


Super Mario Sephira

by scopica



Category: Date A Live, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Video Game), Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Comedy, Dark Comedy, Multi, Multiple Crossovers, Strong Female Characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:14:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 103,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22339111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scopica/pseuds/scopica
Summary: Crossovers are strange to say the least. When Mario crosses over with anime, a hidden world of potential opens up to be saved.
Kudos: 1





	1. Fresh Beginnings Of Torment

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Date A Live Story recreation - but with Mario thrown in. Have fun. This is a multi-chapter story that's FAR from over. Lemme know what ya think.

"So, we're-a back."

Mario and Peach have safely arrived back at the Mushroom Kingdom after Bowser's defeat on the Moon. Indeed, it was their greatest "odyssey" to date. A lot of unique characters and locations and so much hats to explore!

The hat, seemingly having eyes, known as Cappy, then spoke up. "By the way, Mario! I have something for you!" He went back inside the Odyssey, their flying-hat-ship and pulled out a spare Mario hat, with the signature 'M' logo. "I can't stay here that much, so I hope you'll forgive me, but here's your classic hat! You're not YOU without it, Mario! But may we cross paths again."

"Thank you. Cappy. I-a never thought you'd be one of my best buds." He gave Cappy a soft hug. "Of course! I'd-a even visit you if I wanted! Hah hah!" Mario joked around. But it may not have been a joke. Mario was known to keep a promise, especially to his best friends. He gave Cappy and Tiara a wave as they both flew off back to their homeland, Cap Kingdom. Mario then turned to Princess Peach. He still remembered her rejection to his proposal on the Moon Kingdom, but wanted to keep his respects to the princess. "So, eh heh.. Should we head inside-a and take a break?"

Princess Peach obliged and went for her castle. Mario, instead, stayed back for a bit, as he noticed some peculiar balloons and a VERY familiar man in green.

"Luigi?"

The tall green man turned and waved at his big bro. "Mario! Hey! Great news! I have come up with this system called Balloon World! You wanna try? All you need is an inte-"

"Woah! Slow down-a there, bro!" Mario halted him. "Where even-a were you?"

Luigi hesitated to give a reply but he spoke. "Well, you see, eh heh, ever since that Megabug came in, I had time to use these balloons to clean up the mess in-a the Corrupted Mushroom Kingdom!"

As if Bonechill himself answered, there was a loud shriek at the castle. "WHAT IS SHE DOING BACK HERE?!" a voice came from a distressed damsel. Mario simply nodded at Luigi and Luigi did the same. Luigi took off his balloons and ran with his brother to the castle.

* * *

"Grrrmph..." A certain dragon king at the Moon growled after being deserted. "I hate that Mario." He stomped back towards Ever-After Hill. "I'll get him, no matter how hard I try." He stopped when he noticed a bright light emitting from the very deep caves. Curiosity got the better of him and he took cautious steps into the cave. He wasn't cautious enough as he fell face-first onto the ground. He got up and saw a strange crystal sitting right there.

**"Do you wish to be powerful?"**

**"Powerful enough for your nightmares to go away?"**

"Who-"

**"Powerful enough to make your enemies kneel before you?"**

**"A rightful king would do so."**

"Who ARE you?"

**"I am but a _phantom_ of who I once was."**

**"Touch this crystal. It is called Camael."**

"Even enough to defeat Mario?"

**"Perhaps, if you use it well."**

Bowser slowly reached out for the crystal and touched it. He growled in pain as the crystal got absorbed into Bowser. "Grah! What is this?!" It eventually stopped.

**"Bowser, you now possess Spirit power, mainly, fire. Your codename...**

**Efreet."**

**"You can now fly without aid of wings or the such. Go, destroy the Mushroom Kingdom as well as Mario."**

"BraghHAHA! This is excellent! I'll finally rule the Mushroom Kingdom at last!" He went into his shell and rolled around, eventually FLYING and leaving a fire trail as his shell was now on fire. He made an exit by easily bashing a hole in a wall. He makes his way back to Earth like a meteor.

* * *

"How's it going, Me?"

"I just got reports of Me, the dragon has touched Camael's Sephira Crystal."

"That isn't good, Me. We still need his power to go back in time."

A bunch of peculiar characters who all look alike were talking amongst themselves, all sporting gothic lolita dresses, and their hair was unmatched twin tails.

"If he has touched the crystals, then the vortex is bound to open."

"Then the likes of Me will have to deal with the fat one AND him."

"Indeed, I should just eat him alive."

"As expected of Me."

They all giggled in union.

* * *

Mario ran to the castle with Luigi speeding in front of him into the castle. Mario stopped and looked up and saw a certain green dinosaur. "Hey! Yoshi!"

Yoshi waved back at him and landed on the castle bridge. "Yoshi, Yoshi!" Of course, Yoshi still can't speak proper English.

"So, I have an idea! Why don't you come with-a us to the castle to investigate what got the princess to peak!" Yoshi nodded in agreement, as they both went into the castle.

* * *

At the castle, Peach was pointing at the throne, in which a certain bunny cosplaying as her was sitting on the throne.

Indeed, ever since the Megabug incident, Mario allowed the Rabbids to stay within the Mushroom Kingdom, as their Washing Machine was doomed to forever be broken.

"Rabbid Peach, ugh..." Mario facepalmed.

"Bwah! Bwah! BWAHBWAH!" Rabbid Peach seemed to refuse when the Toad Guards told her to get off the throne. They eventually picked her up and threw her onto the ground.

 ** _SLAM!_** The impact shook the Earth itself!

"Huh... That was a pretty rough landing for a tiny Rabbid." Luigi remarked.

"Iiiiii don't think-a that was a Rabbid, Luigi..." Mario replied, as he stepped outside the castle. "...HUH...?"

When he looked outside, everything was not how it was 5 minutes ago. Everything was on fire.

The town.

The houses.

The castle.

The fire.

The grass.

EVERYTHING...

...burned to ash.

"What... happened..."

Luigi followed from behind Mario along with Peach, Yoshi & Rabbid Peach.

"M-Mario? Everything's... burning!" Luigi quivered. Mario wanted to give Luigi a 'YOU THINK?' speech, but this was more serious than anything they have ever dealt with.

"Who... Could have done this..." Mario looked around, and saw a giant flaming ball in the sky heading directly for him. Everyone was sent far back, but Mario was sent not as far back. He could recognise the figure from anywhere.

"Bwahahahaha! Welcome back, mortal enemy!"

And that voice. It had to be Mario's worst enemy of all time. No denying it. "Bowser." Mario simply called out. And out he emerged, still having his same sinister look as always. He smirked and looked at Mario.

"It's my brand new invasion, and you're the guest! Like what I did? I think this fire settles our mood wonderfully."

* * *

"BOWSER! WHAT HAVE YOU-A DONE?!" Mario yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Do you enjoy it? While you DITCHED me on the Moon, I had to go get some newfound powers with this crystal thingy!"

"Crystal... thingy?" Luigi spoke up from behind.

"Indeed, while you were out PARTYING, I gain the powers of a god! Bwahahaha!" Bowser laughed maniacally.

"You've gone-a insane, Bowser." Mario clenched his fist.

"Have I? HAVE I?! I think I've just had enough of you crushing me under the sole of your foot so many times! I have had enough of you stomping on my CHILDREN! My son! Kamek! All of them! You think I'm just going to STAND THERE as you tarnish my kingdom?" Bowser rambled, while Mario lowered his eyebrows more and more. "Well you are wrong! Dead wrong! You've been wrong all this time! I'm a KING! You're a HERO! Heroes should bow down to kings! Thanks to Camael here!"

Bowser only had to say the word Camael for a barrage of flames to form together, forming an axe. Mario stood in shock of an axe. The last time he used an axe was-

"You used an axe to kill me. Now I'll use an axe to kill you. Isn't it strange how the cycle starts all over again with the receiving person now getting the pain?"

Mario stood back in shock. Bowser never had that kind of morbid obsession with KILLING Mario. He then noticed Bowser's eyes going pure red. He went crazy. He always does go crazy.

"In that-a case..." Mario pointed his finger. "I challenge YOU to a fight, Bowser!"

"Challenging me?" Bowser chuckled. "That's a first. Alright, I challenge YOU!" He also pointed his finger. "This will be a duel of the ages! Let the fun BEGIN! Bwahahahahaha!"

* * *

A boy with slightly less harsh of a blue was yawning and walking downstairs after being forcefully woken up by his sister. 6 in the morning, why did she have to wake him up at that time? That's a cruel time to wake up, even for school. This blue-haired man was named Shido Itsuka. He lived in Japan, so it made sense for him to have a slightly weird name. He sleepily opened the door and found an usual table as an act of a barricade. He knew what this was. It was his sister, whom was sporting duel coral-colored twintails. Also known as Kotori Itsuka.

Shido had the most brilliant (in his mind) idea. He got into a crawling position, and hastily made his way to behind the table.

"RAAAAAAGH!" He lept out like a monster at her!

"A-aaaaaaah!" She ran and ran straight into a wall, backing up against it and frantically looking for an exit. When she shivered in place, Shido spoke.

"Calm down, it's only me!"

"A-are you sure?"

He raised his hands and spoke as if speaking to an alien. "Yes, I am very much good friend to you. Yes. I Kotori big brother."

She breathed a sigh of relief, before opening her eyes and laughing nervously.

"A large Spacial Quake was recorded early this morning near the center of Tengu Square. There was only slight damage, and no casualties among residents of the area. Investigations continue as to the cause of the spacial quakes.."

"Again? Sounded close too..." Shido spoke when cooking dinner.

"It was..." Kotori simply stared at the TV screen.

_Spacial quakes. Worldwide catastrophal phenomenons. For a brief moment, the sky goes twisted and from it comes a massive explosion. A few months ago it completely flattened an area near the Itsuka residence. Since then, spacial quakes have been popping up more than Five Nights at Freddy's games._

Shido thought this while cooking and turned back to Kotori. "It's strange. There has been a lot lately."

She muffled, indicating she had something in her mouth. "You're telling me."

 **"This is happening earlier than planned..."** She stared at the TV and the space quake accident.

Shido realised what was going on!

...She was eating sweets before breakfast!

"HOLD IT! NO SWEETS!"

She gasped as her mouth disconnected from the Chupa Chup (not sponsored by the way) and she immediately ducked it back in her mouth and refused to take it out from an assaulting Shido. Despite his efforts, he could not get the candy away from her.

He sighed in defeat. "Just make sure you eat breakfast, okay?"

She winked innocently. "Okay, bro, love you!"

Shido looked at the calendar and noticed a very special day; a day to request any lunch you want. "Oh, hey, got any requests for lunch?"

Kotori's eyes sparked up as she imagined every deluxe plate imaginable. "Oh YEAH! Deluxe Kids Plate for MEEEEE!"

Shido got back into "roleplay" mode. "Uh, that's from a diner. We don't serve that dish at this restaurant."

She, of course, was immensely disappointed.

"Oh come on, please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?" She clasped her hands together and smiled. "It's yummy!"

Shido bit into his toast in defeat once more.

"Fine."

* * *

"Well, here we go!" Mario threw a punch at Bowser, and he steps back, predictable, as it was just a simple punch.

"A punch? Really? That is pathetic for someone like you." He swung his axe, sending a wave of flames in Mario's direction. He laughed as Mario tried to dodge it, but he got knocked aside by Bowser's strength himself.

"MARIO!" Luigi called out. They all angrily stared at Bowser and pulled out their weapons.

Luigi, his Poltergust.

Peach, her frying pan.

Yoshi, his eggs,

And Rabbid Peach, her Blaster.

"Alright, you fools. Time to take out the trash." Bowser aimed his axe at the surviving members and charged. He first aimed at Luigi, who luckily dodged the axe slice. "Why don't you just run home to Mario while you're still able?"

"Because, Bowser! I'm not as cowardly as you think! I'd do ANYTHING for my big bro! Do you even KNOW how sad it is to lose him when I do?! I don't think you want to know so stop pushing me!"

Meanwhile, Rabbid Peach had shot a blast at Bowser's back, in which he deflected it with his shell.

**"Your bro will die either way, Luigi."**

Luigi gasped. Bowser was never this brutal. Even Luigi knew that Bowser had gone insane. Bowser managed to zone Luigi out with that sentence, and elbowed him out of the way. Next up came Yoshi, who growled at Bowser and threw eggs at him. Bowser fried them with his fire breath and axe. "I always didn't like you, Yoshi. Even as a baby." He knocked Yoshi back with his axe.

"Alright, who's up next? Definitely not you, Peach. I can kidnap you in more ways than one."

All the fallen heroes looked at Bowser in defeat, then at Mario. Luigi noticed a ? Block and hit it, revealing a Cape Feather. "Mario!" He yelled at the fallen Mario. "Catch this!" He tossed the feather at Mario, and it eventually landed on him.

Mario suddenly got all his energy back, and now sports an (admittingly) awesome cape. He stared at Bowser with fury in his eyes. "Alright, Bowser, you've had fun with your toy."

"Fun's-a over!"


	2. Bowser Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to level the playing field! Mario dukes it out with Bowser!

But first, Bowser snapped his fingers. Don't worry, this wasn't to erase half the universe, no no, but eventually two familiar figures emerged from the sky. A younger version of the evil king and a wizard in blue robes.

"Of course-a." Mario stuttered.

The kingdom was on fire and his two followers didn't care. They wanted to follow his papa and his master's orders.

"Leave my papa alone, you bad man!" The first customer of the day popped out of his clown car. This was Bowser's own son, Bowser Jr. "Hey! Mario! Stay away from Peach too! We're taking her after we're done with YOU!"

Kamek also piped in. "Well well! If it isn't the green dinosaur himself!" Yoshi grumbled from that response. "But alas, you will be wiped off like a... uh.. flip-flop!"*

Everyone, including Bowser, stared at Kamek.

"...It works?"

"It does." Bowser grumbled and turned back to Mario. "Mario. You. Me. And your cowardly bro, we duke it out. Regardless of who wins or who loses, there will be guaranteed deaths. This kingdom is already on the verge of burning to ash! Bwahahaha!"

"Bowser..." Mario uttered that name in spite. "It's-a on then." He rustled his recent Cape that he got from a feather. He then turned to Luigi, who was standing beside Mario, hammer in tow, also glaring angrily at Bowser. "Ready, bro?" Luigi, still with a stern expression on his face, turned to Mario, and raised his eyebrows, knowing his bro would always be there for him. "Ready, Mario!" He replied. They both turned to Bowser in unionism and raised their fists. "LET'S-A-GO!"

Bowser simply laughed at this. "You want to die that badly? Very well. By the name of Camael, and me, the spirit Efreet... IT'S SHOWTIME!" Bowser also raised his fist as they both clashed into each other.

"Hold it, pipsqueaks!" Bowser Jr. pointed at the running Peach and Rabbid Peach. "I still have the agenda of capturing YOU to make my papa proud! The more princesses, the better!"

Peach pulled out her frying pan. "I'm not gonna be captured and be a sitting duck!" Rabbid Peach also pulled out her blaster. "Bwah!"

"Bwah hee hee hee!" Boxing gloves came out of Bowser Jr's clown car. "I shall use my very powerful clown car (which is one of my favourite birthday gifts, may I add!), to strike you down! Prepare for gizmos and gadgets to blast you into oblivion!"

"Bleh."** Rabbid Peach stuck out her tongue. She was not amused when Bowser Jr. spoke. In fact, if it wasn't for battle, she would be on her phone on Instagram or whatever right now.

"HEY! PAY ATTENTION!" Bowser Jr. stomped his foot like a classic villain. "You will learn to respect me, and when to do it!" He then pulled out his drills. "Brace yourself, spoiled peaches! I'll make my papa proud, time!"

"So, Yoshi, my old-time baddie, I assume this is the part where we duel." Kamek spoke, glaring at Yoshi. All he got was a glare back from said Yoshi.

"Yoshi, Yoshi." He growled.

"Ah, that's right. You're Yoshi. The only words you know is your own name! Keheheheh!"

He then aimed his wand.

"Alright, Yoshi. Let's begin our war."***

The battle has begun. An all-out war with Bowser.

It starts with Yoshi.

Yoshi began by throwing an egg at Kamek. It missed, obviously, since Kamek was prepared for battle. "That all you got? Eggs? I've seen enough of them! Blech! They make my stomach gurgle and ache!" Kamek laughed. "Keheheheh! But... Excellent throwing."

Kamek was always the wise one of the villains. "But you shall never even lan-"

Yoshi immediately kicked Kamek across the battlefield and gave chase. He ran right across Peach's Castle, only to be stopped by an incoming Bowser being slam dunked by Mario. He dived under Bowser but got punted back by Bowser Jr. Rabbid Peach caught up with Bowser Jr, and saddled up on Yoshi. She bounced onto Bowser Jr, and shot her blaster at Bowser, in which he deflected with his shell. When Bowser turned around, Mario uppercutted him in the face, and Luigi bounced onto Mario with a Team Jump and launched himself to Kamek.

That's the kind of chaos that this battle housed. A battle for the fate of the WORLD.

Mario jumped up after Bowser after uppercutting him in the face and hammered Bowser directly into Bowser Jr. Peach swiftly dodged the incoming Bowser and whacked Kamek with a frying pan. Luigi ran forwards and headbutted into Bowser. Bowser elbowed Luigi back and spat a fireball at Rabbid Peach. Luckily, she activated her Shield, so she didn't take much damage. However, the damage was still brutal.

"Bwah?!" Rabbid Peach ranted about her HP suddenly being below 50. She sent a turret after Bowser Jr, in which he countered with his own Turret. They both exploded, damaging neither Rabbid Peach or Bowser Jr. "Is that all you got?" He laughed, taunting her ever so.

He was suddenly interrupted by a Mario who hammered him to the head. He used the hammer slam to boost himself up and elbowed Kamek.

Mario then charged up his hammer more and bonked Bowser this time. He countered with HIS elbow. Mario kept swinging while Bowser kept blocking. "BWAHAHAHA! Is that all you got? You're going to hurt me, right? You're going to KILL me right? So stop being a baby and HURT ME!"

"Hrrrrmph! Bowser, I WILL-a hurt you! Just you wait!" Mario declared while jumping upwards and using his Cape Feather to push himself and Bowser plummeting towards the ground. "HYAH!" He thrusted out of Bowser to let him continue the fall, in which he fell to the ground with a large WHAM!

Luigi pulled out his hammer and swinged at Bowser Jr, in which he countered with his own hammer. Bowser Jr. leapt up.

"Eh?" Luigi looked around, confused. Then looked up.

"TAKE THIS!" Bowser Jr. yelled while doing a ground pound.

"WAH!" Luigi cried out. Of course, he was always the cowardly one. He ran back from Bowser Jr's ground pound, but got knocked back anyway. "Eeeeugh..." Luigi sputtered, getting out of the dirt he was just faceplanted in and spat some dirt out. "Hoh!" He tossed his hammer, which caught Junior off guard and hit him. "YEOW!" exclaimed Junior.

"Ha ha!" Take THAT, you spoiled brat!"

Bowser turned. "CAMAEL." He yelled out his deadly weapon's name and he summoned his flaming axe. He sprinted towards Luigi.

Mario, who was currently fighting Bowser, looked towards Luigi. "BRO!" He dived and shoved Luigi out of the way and took the hit of Camael. "D'OW!" Mario got brutally hit, his body in flames.

"MARIO!" Luigi and Peach called out.

"BWAH!"

"YOSHI!"

Luigi was furious and glared at Bowser. He grabbed both his and Mario's hammer and made a double swing at Bowser, in which he blocked with Camael.

"D'aww, your power seems to have gotten weaker! GWAHAHAHAHA! Where's your precious bro now?!" He laughed maniacally.

Everyone aimed their weapons at Bowser.

"So you still want to fight? You haven't lost morale? Good. I like crushing those who think they have a shimmer of light in VICTORY!" Bowser roared as he charged at them. He easily knocked away Rabbid Peach's Blaster with Camael. "GWAAAARGH!" He sliced Rabbid Peach far across the battlefield.

"Rabbid me!" Peach called out. Rabbid Peach may have been a jerk, but she was HER jerk. She was lovable too. Peach pulled out her golf club and swung at Bowser, in which he snapped in half with Camael. "All weapons are useless! Don't you get it?" he declared. He curled into a ball and knocked Peach aside next to Rabbid Peach, Peach also falling in battle.

Yoshi felt CORNERED. He had Bowser, Bowser Jr. and Kamek all staring at him now. Bowser was just about to shoot a fireball at him until.

"STOP-A!"

Bowser turned. Of course, Mario only lost his Cape Feather powerup. He was now just your regular normal Mario. He glared at Bowser with a clench in his fist. "Alright, you-a three! I'm next!"

All the baddies stared at each other...

Then laughed.

However, their laugh was cut VERY shortly when Mario uppercutted Bowser Jr. on the jaw. He kicked Kamek in the face and pulled out his hammer and whonked Bowser. Bowser was the only one to counter as they had a sparring spree. Bowser elbowed Mario away but he quickly came back with a hammer to the head and then a stomp to the head. Mario jumped back.

He turned. "Huh?" as he noticed a swirling blue vortex beginning to develop in the sky. He swore this was familiar somehow...****

"Bowser?"

"NOT NOW, MARIO!" Bowser roared. He jumped and slammed down towards Mario, the latter backflipping to dodge.

"Bowser, there's a VORTEX in the sky!"

"Good, more reason for you to DIE!" Bowser punched Mario back with a flaming fist, Mario getting knocked back. "D'oh!" He said.

Mario's words were considered a warning, because the vortex grew bigger and bigger, eventually pulling in Rabbid Peach and Princess Peach in first.

"Princess...es!" Mario called out.

Then Yoshi.

And then Bowser Jr. and Kamek.

And finally...

"Oh no." Mario ran after his brother, also pulled in via vortex. He leapt up across multiple platforms, and made a huge massive leap to grab his bro's hand, Luigi also reaching out for him.

"Just a little...!" But alas, Luigi was fully pulled in along with Mario himself.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere yet! Stay RIGHT there! There's still DYING left to do!" Bowser leapt in after Mario.


	3. Daily Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is this strange new world? Mario must find his friends and get back home!

"Bowser! Come back-a here!" Mario was chasing Bowser through the interdimensional vortex. He landed with his fist on a platform. Conviniently, on that platform, were all the Mushroom Inhabitants. Everyone's favourite characters and Luigi.

"Oh. Hey guys."

They all waved at him awkwardly, and then Mario turned to face the flying Bowser.

"MARIO!" Bowser roared at him. "You have way too many companions with you!" He aimed Megiddo at the party. "Or," he aimed at the ground, "let this void decide your fate. I'll take that chance." He fired a huge laser fire blast at the platform and everyone fell towards their ultimate demise.

Mario looked up. "Guys! Incoming!" He pointed upwards and swam out of the direct attack of a spinning flaming shell. The shell popped out and revealed Bowser. "Well, you're quick! Let's see what happens when I cut your team apart?" The flaming weapon turned back into an axe. He swung his axe in the air as it tore a fabric-dimension-portal.

Bowser himself was surprised to see this along with everyone else. "Huh, that's weird... I don't think I have powers to open up wormholes..."

Rabbid Peach was the first to be pulled in due to her small size, and the portal closed. Many more opened with various vague images of the location of the portals, sucking in Peach, who had a dark tower portal, & Yoshi, who had a portal that looked like out of a fairytale book.

"LUIGI!" Mario grabbed onto Luigi's hands.

"Bro! Mario! I won't.. let go..!" Luigi struggled. But it was no use, as he let go due to the sheer strength of the wormhole. The last image Mario saw was that the wormhole lead to some sort of school.

"BOWSER!" Mario turned. Bowser was actually being pulled in again, this time the wormhole leading to a city of some sorts. Mario realised all alone as the main vortex he was in slowly opened up to a brand new world, and a brand new city. Mario saw a certain peculiar character and dived after him in order to soften the blow for that particular character, as Mario knew him well.

And thus, the title of the whole story begins.

SUPER MARIO SEPHIRA!

Mario yelled out in his classic voice.

"Hooray! I love eating out for lunch! Thank you so much, bro!" Kotori, the twin-tailed pink hair from before, with her brother, Shido, was walking downtown towards the diner. They eventually arrived.

"Yeah, sure, anytime." her brother replied, taking in the sights.

"Okay, so after school, meet me in front of the diner!"

"Sounds good."

"And don't forget! Even if the place is attacked by terrorists, WE'LL STILL EAT!"

..she's overexaggerating.

"If that happens, I doubt they'll let us stay." Shido used realism, it apparently wasn't effective enough.

So instead, he gave her a pat on the head. "I'll be here. Just have a good day at school, okay?" He let go as Kotori began running to her school. "Yeah, and after that, meet me here even if there's a spacial quake!" Kotori might as well have summoned 2012.

"Great! Now go to school already!" Shido waved her off, but his shoulder was touched uncomfortably by someone, and he turned around. "Hey Shido." The shoulder-toucher called out.

"Hey, uh, Tonomachi." In his sights was a teenager with spiky hair and with black eyes to suit his black hair, and already prepped for school.

"A simple hey is nice? Nice, but, we're going to SCHOOL! It's going to be awesome!"

"Glad you think school is good..." He walked with Tonomachi right behind him toward the school, in sight of three girls.

"Oh my gosh, is that Tonomachi with Shido?" One with spike-blond hair along with her eyes, in her uniform.

"I heard he swings both ways, hope that's not to poor Shido." Brown eyes and short brunette hair, also in uniform.

"That's so lame..." And one with long purple hair and purple eyes.

Ai, Mai, and Mii. The first girl turned to notice a short white-hair girl peeking from a lamp post and then she went away as soon as she was spotted.

"Are you okay, Ai?"

"I'm perfect, just saw Supergenius creepin'."

"That's so lame..." Seems the purple-hair one found her catchphrase. And then they walked to their school.

"WaaaaaaHOO!" Mario landed with his fist on the ground. He looked around, and saw a sort of diner in front of him. He let go of the person he was carrying. A bunny in a Luigi hat and green robes.

"Ah, Rabbid Luigi!" He thumbsed-up Rabbid Luigi.

"Bwah!" He also did a thumbs up.

"Okie-dokie. Where the-a heck are we?"

"Not so fast! YOU two will do nicely!" A mysterious voice perked up, quite an annoying one too.

"Capture: You will make nice models for our ninety-fifth competition: Bush trimming."

A set of twins...? Two with orange braided hair. One who's eyes were way too open and the other who was half-asleep. What weird clothing, with chains and keyholes wrapped around leather (and suggestive) clothing. One of the twins sported purple and the other blue.

"Uuuh, what's-a going on here?"

"Reassure: You will be used wisely when making models based off bushes." The robotic one assured Mario and walked to Rabbid Luigi. "Petition: Stand still."

Mario awkwardly looked at Rabbid Luigi before being dragged by the other twin.

"Now YOU! I demand you stand still so I can get a good look and trim this bush in the shape of you! Knowing Yuzuru, she can't trim a bunny as correctly as I trim humans!"

"Yuzuru?" Mario questioned.

"Scornful: Kaguya, this human has a big nose."

"Kag-Wh-hey!" Mario stuttered, looking angrily at Yuzuru, but then gave up. "Hrrrmph, what did you-a mean you had a ninety-fifth competition anyway?"

Kaguya looked at Mario and then spoke in a confident voice. "We're competing to see who's the best."

"Shoulda saw that-a coming..." Mario muttered, as Kaguya continued. "The winner will stay in this world, while the other will cease to exist! As you can see, it's pretty intense!"

"...Bush-a trimming doesn't seem that-a intense."

"It is when we have our life on the line!"

"Response: That is why we need you to stand still to make the perfect bushes."

"Fine fine." Mario agreed and Rabbid Luigi silently nodded as they stood still.

School had started. Normally, this would be doomsday, but Raizen High was the school that had an exception on that. Everyone was nice to each other, oddly enough. Bullies were scarce here which is even odder. Whatever works for Shido, works.

Year 2, and his designated classroom was Class 4. Nice. Shido took what every harem main protagonist takes on their first day of school: The back seat.

"Hey Shido." Oh great, Tonomachi's in the same room. "Isn't it great that we are in the SAME classroom together? Some say that fate or destiny has brought us together!" He flicked his hair as dazzling sparkle effects came from him.

"Sure it is." Shido replied, not wanting to deal with it. There soon followed an immense amount of awkward silence until Tonomachi's phone gave off a notification.

"Hold on a second, it's my girl." What news!

"Girl? Girl as in girlfriend?" Shido is the first to hear the news, apparently. Goodness knows what sorts of hidden talents Tonomachi was waiting to unleash upon the world. All his hopes were building up to this moment.

"Yeah, you wanna meet her?" He turned his phone.

Could it be the most beautiful woman on the planet?

A divine grace?

A warm character for all?

...

"That's a dating sim." Shido looked at the screen, it was an app called "My Little Seed" with a character that looked an awful lot like Kotori.

"Yeah, so? Don't judge me for having these tastes, okay?" Tonomachi protested. "This app will teach you everything you need to know on how to treat women! It's like a textbook for LOVIN'! This app is also famous for-" He rambled on and on.

"Shido Itsuka."

A white-hair girl uttered the half-asleep boy's name that brought him back to reality, he turned to the figure.

"Who, me?"

"Yes."

The white-hair girl looked him cold in the eye, and she did a pretty darn good job of intimidating Shido. "H-how do you know who I am?" He tried to break an uncomfortable amount of silence.

"You mean you don't remember?"

"Eeeeh..."

But the girl just sad down and pulled out her book, totally absorbed in it. Shido whispered to Tonomachi, "Am I supposed to know her?" and he replies "You should! That's Origami Tobiichi, also known as the Supergenius."

"Supergenius?"

"Yeah? She's always got near-perfect grades and I mean look at her! Gorgeous! On my list of 'Top 10 Women I'd Probably Have As A Girlfriend', she's never been out of the top THREE."

...Impressive... is all Shido had thought.

"It's strange enough that you don't know her," Tonomachi continued, "But more importantly, why in the world does she know YOU?" he turned to Shido.

"I wish I knew but I have no idea." That was the most logical conclusion he could make. But his thoughts were cut short as a chime sounded throughout the halls. It's the beginning of the school day. Everyone got up to greet their, thankfully not bald, teacher. Everyone cheered as one of the nicest was going to be taking them. A young appearance with light brown middle-length hair and cute thin-rimmed glasses.

Tonomachi was the first to praise her. "Oh heck yeah! It's Tamae!"

Tamae reassured Tonomachi, "It's Miss Okamine, please." Wow, most teachers would have erupted when students use their first name, but not this teacher, and she still remained as calm as ever. "Now everyone quiet down. I'll be your homeroom teacher this semester! I hope you're all excited to learn!" She said with a beaming smile.

Everyone clapped to welcome their new teacher, and Shido noticed that one wasn't clapping, and one who was staring directly at him - the same person who both wasn't clapping and was staring. Origami. "Origami Tobiichi..." His thoughts spoke. "Why does she know who I am? And why is she looking at me? This is so weird... What the heck is going on?"

A few.. couple hours... passed. Mario and Rabbid Luigi were still occupied by the strange twins and the school already ended. Time flies when you have fun, and it was true with this school: Tamae knows how to make stuff FUN.

Everyone was leaving with their bags, but Tonomachi and Shido stayed behind. "Hey Shido, wanna go home together?" Turns out Tonomachi is true about swinging both ways. Luckily, Shido is an excellent master at dodging things. "No thanks, I got plans." Tonomachi quickly caught on to Shido. "Oh yeah, is it a girl?"

He sighed. "Technically. It's just Kotori, though."

Tonomachi responded with a nice compliment. "Oh, I understand. As far as I know, there's not a single girl in this world who would have lunch with you!"

"...Thanks, but thaaaat was NOT a compliment."

ANOTHER moment of silence was interrupted by... uh oh, the Uh-Oh Alarm. Wait-no, a more sinister alarm.

"That's a spacial quake alarm!" Shido called out.

Tonomachi looked out the window. "We should go to the school shelter. Should be safe enough."

Shido noticed Origami going the complete wrong way. "Where's she going?" Maybe she wanted to end it all? Personal affairs? A luxorious shelter all to herself? There were a million possibilites, but the only SURVIVING one was to get to the shelter, in which he did.

"Aaah! Don't forget all your belongings!" Tamae was on the complete opposite side of calm now, she was freaking out HARD. "Don't run, don't push, don't-"

Tonomachi was the one who reassured her. "You MAY wanna take it down a skotch."

She calmed down, whew. "You're right, I'm sorry!"

Shido in the background was checking his phone. That's right, he made a promise to Kotori. "Oh, I just hope Kotori's not in front of that diner!" He thought as he waited for his little sister to pick up the phone in which he was currently calling her with.

"I'll be here even if a spacial quake happens!"

"Come on... She has to be fine! She HAS to. I bet the shelter she in just had bad reception," Gotta stay optimistic... "Or she has her phone on silent or something..." He stopped calling, and activated the GPS. "Just to be safe..." The GPS loaded, and her location is where Shido did NOT want her to be. The DINER.

Shido gasped, and ran and ran and RAN. Tonomachi tried to stop him. "Hey, wait!" But he kept running. Out the school and into the streets.

"Huh...?" Mario looked around, along with Rabbid Luigi. The two twins looked up as well. "What's-a that alarm?"

The energetic twin seemed to have known. "It's a spacequake alarm! If you don't get into a shelter, you'll be FLATTENED. Way to cut our competition short..."

"But it was-a three hours-"

The robotic one spoke up. "Conclusion: We declare this round a draw." The two figures poofed away in a hurricane-like fashion.

Mario looked at Rabbid Luigi, then angrily back at the sky. "Hmm. The last-a time something like-a this happened, Luigi got sepe-"

"Luigi."

"Bwah!" Rabbid Luigi pointed to the sky. Close to them, it was getting misformed.

"Come-a on, Rabbid Luigi! Maybe Luigi's in that-a misformed sky!" They both nodded and ran towards the spacial quake.

Shido ran towards the diner and not the quake. "Why?"

"Okay, bro, I love you!"

"Why...?!"

"Thank you so much, bro!"

"Why did she not just take shelter? The city's about to be destroyed and she's worried about a promise?!"

"Kotori... Kotori...! Kotori!"

He ran and ran, but it was too late. The impact struck like a natural disaster. Shido saw the light coming towards him and braced himself for his certain doom... But it never happened. He was still alive. He coughed and got up, and saw a massive crater in place of a diner. "Whoa, what-" He turned his sights to the other side of a crater.

And the other man turned his sights to the other side.

A schoolboy?

A fat chubby man?

But then they both turned to the centre, for there was something that struck their eye. A.. girl? And not just any girl, but someone unnatural. Long, dark purple hair? Purple eyes to fit the hair? She wore armor that is black and purple all around, and a poofy skirt to boot. Metal-looking gloves and boots too, this girl was impossible to be real.

Shido was the first to recover from his initial shock. "Is that.. a girl? What's she doing?"

No time for thoughts. She was also standing on some sort of golden throne. Almost like a princess. She reached her hands for the top of the throne and slowly unsheathed a SWORD. The sword was nearly twice her body. She swung one inch away from Shido. He dared not to look back at the crumbling buildings he could hear behind him. Almost like a sword beam from any RPG and-

"Not you too."

"Wh-" Shido was brought back to reality with the girl pointing her sword directly at him. This gave him a chance to look at her closely. The only word to describe her was an impossibly beautiful girl. She could be fun to have around if she wasn't going to kill Shido right then and there. Mario could only watch.

"So.. it's true.. you came here to kill me." That was brutal. Those could have been her first words. Kill. Kill. Die. I'll hurt you first.

"Ah!" Shido could only gape, as their first confrontation happens. The student and the princess. She needed a knight in shining armor. Shido got onto the ground and stuck his hand out in defense.

"Do not try denying you are here to kill me. I must kill you before the others show up."

Others?

"Wh-please don't kill me! I would never kill YOU!"

"What." The girl narrowed her gaze.

"I could never hurt anybody... Is that what YOU'RE here for?" Shido tried to talk, but the girl narrowed even more, almost to the point of shutting her eyes. She turned her head to the sky, and so did Shido. The day just got weirder when weird women in flying mechs came flying down with turrets and guns and all that. They fired on the princess, but she blocked with a mana shield.

"Why do they not realise the futility of their attacks?" She increased the pressure of the shield, causing the missiles to explode. Yes, they had missiles too.

"This isn't just any girl." No duh, Sherlock Shido.

The women homed in and the princess flew in the air (without any jetpacks or anything, it's like magic) and swung her sword horizontally, causing the missiles to explode beautifully.

"If she's that strong..." The girl turned to Shido, with an expression like she would cry. "Why does she look so sad?"

"Rabbid Luigi!" Mario called, with the called Rabbid looking at Mario. "Gimmie a boost! We need to save that princess!" Rabbid Luigi obliged and stuck his feet out. Mario collided his feet with Rabbid Luigi's. He leapt up with a massive "WAHOO!" The girls, the princess included, all turned to Mario in astonishment. Mario decided what side he was on. The princess' side. He swung his fist at one of the girls, her getting knocked back in the process.

"Ugh, dammit!" A black ponytail girl cried out. Must be the leader. She aimed her gun at Mario, and opened fire. The missiles homed in, and Mario saw it was too much, and he was running out of time before gravity imprisoned him. "Wah-!" But it was too late, the missiles hit and he was sent plummeting to the ground, with Rabbid Luigi catching him.

The princess landed on the ground, looking at Mario. But her sights were cut off by a troop aiming a massive gun right at her. She pulled out her sword, blocking out the blast, and cut off the gun. The white-hair troop gasped as the princess swung her sword to retaliate, luckily, the troop dodging. The troop landed next to Shido, and that she looked mighty familiar.

"Tobiichi?" Shido could only call out. Origami looked back at Shido, expression not changing.

"Shido. It's you."

"...Why are you wearing those clothes?" Probably not the best thing to ask. Those clothes were suggestive, but could withstand sword slices.

The princess swung her sword at Origami, Origami clashing with her own beam sword, the two glaring at each other. Rabbid Luigi watched in horror. Light came out from the clash, eventually blinding Shido and Rabbid Luigi.

"Finally. We meet again."

"Who... are you?"

Shido could only see the speaker's lips.

"I am so happy to reunite with you. I won't let you go again. I won't ever be wrong again."

"Soon."

Shido woke up with a blinding light in his eye. All he could do was get up and rub his eyes.

"Hm, it seems you are awake." Shido turned his head. What a sleepy woman, kinda unhealthy with those bags under her eyes. Pale blue hair and blue eyes. Everything about her seemed pale and unkempt.

"Er, who are you?"

"My name is Reine Murasame." She said, sleepy as ever. "I am the head analyst for Fraxinus. Do not be alarmed, first aid is hardly out of my league."

Head analyst? Thank goodness she isn't a penguin. 

"Mura-Ah! My sister! I need to find my sister! She's waiting in front of the diner for me! I can't-"

"Your sister is alright."

"Huh."

Shido could only wonder at what Reine was on about.

"I am not best suited for this. Perhaps it is best if you ask the Vice Commander." She lead Shido out of the room and into another room with a bunch of monitors. This must be the control room where all the plot happens. Waiting for them was a blonde-hair man with brown eyes. Reine talked to him. "I brought him with me."

"Excellent." He replied. He turned to Shido. "Welcome onboard Fraxinus, Ratatoskr. I am Kyouhei Kannazuki. Vice Commander."

Shido looked at him for a minute, then turned to the Commander. It was Kotori.

Wait, what?

Kotori...?

"Kotori...?"

"Glad you could make it, bro! Like the idiot said, welcome to Ratatoskr." Kotori seemed completely unamused. "We not only have you, but we have a feeeew others." Kotori opened the door, and out came two figures. A chubby fat man with a big nose, amazing mustache, and mainly red clothing with a signature 'M' hat, and accompanied was some strange bunny-like creature with a green 'L' hat and green robes.

"Shido, I want you to meet Mario and Rabbid Luigi."

Shido blankly stared at them. That's right. They met before, when confronting the princess. Mario walked up to Shido while Rabbid Luigi was judgingly looking at Kotori.

"Hi?" Mario was the first to talk.

"...Er, hi." Shido replied.

There was a lot of uncomfortable silence. Kotori then spoke up and turned on the biggest monitor, showing the princess. "This is not a human, for it is a Spirit! All we know is that it's NOT of this world."

"It?" Mario questioned. "It's clearly a she."

Kotori continued, ignoring Mario. She switched screens. "The mecha women you saw in the sky are the AST. They try to eliminate the Spirit. Or, to put it lightly... Kill her."

"Kill?"

"You are here to kill me." the princess' voice rang through his head. "That's... wrong!" Shido continued more.

"Exactly, so I don't ask you to FIGHT the Spirit. I want you to go back to school as normal. I will give you instructions on what to do when school is over."

"Kotori, I-"

Kotori interrupted. "I'm not giving you a choice here. Your only option is yes."

Shido looked at her in awe, in which she simply ate her Chupa Chups.

"What were you doing in the streets anyway, bro?" Kotori asked. "Did you WANT to die?" Teasing now.

"No, I was looking for you because you promised you'd be at the diner!"

"I said that, but I didn't think you'd actually follow through. I forgot how much of a big idiot my big brother was-"

"But your location said you were at the diner!"

Kotori paused. "Huh. I guess you're right. Although technically we're ABOVE the diner."

"What." Shido had enough crazy for one day.

"Turn off the filter!" She commanded. The surrounding area went invisible, and they were 15,000 meters above ground, almost as if they could fall. Shido stepped back, as if that would do much.

"We're 15,000 meters above Tenguu City." Shido could only look down as his sister continued. "So, Shido, continue going to school as normal, and Mario..." She handed Mario a very familiar gun. A Bwahnzai Bill Blaster! "I want you to stall the AST. Fight back."

"And you, Rabbid Luigi." She turned to him. "I think you are already equipped." Rabbid Luigi nodded, pulling out his Bworb.

"Excellent. Fight back. Stall them."

"Save the princess."


	4. Awkward Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuffling around awkwardly to stop an atomic bomb girl blowing up the world. No pressure.

Shido walked out of the control room. He had recieved word from Kotori to 'go to school as normal'. He was forced to say yes and continue living a normal life. If anything after Shido encountered, his life would not be classified as 'normal'. Great. Now it was just Mario & Rabbid Luigi.

"Hey... Uh.. Kotori, was-a it?" Mario asked. Kotori gave a simple nod in confirmation. Mario tapped his recently gained Bwahnzai Bill. "I've-a been meaning to ask, where the heck did you-a get my old weapon?"

Kotori 'ah' parted her lips and then spoke with a confident tone. "Because some other thing gave it to me. " Mario blanked out. Kotori sighed and turned on some communicator. "Get your butt over here." Mario shuddered. He didn't want anything to do with that. But the door opened to reveal-

"-!" Mario gasped. In front of him was a short creature, same height as Rabbid Luigi-no, wait, same SPECIES as Rabbid Luigi! This Rabbid has a crown, a blonde wig and a pink shirt with a jewel on it. In her hand was a girly phone.

"Rabbid Peach! You're alright!" Rabbid Peach noticed Mario, 'bwah'ed in happiness and gave him a hug, pulling in Rabbid Luigi too. Kotori coughed to get the plot moving.

"Ah, now, let's talk about you three. I studied Mario's data while he was knocked out-"

"You examined-a me when I was sleeping?!" Mario was mortified but Kotori continued on.

"-and found out that you three are not from _here._ If anything, my guess would be you come from the same place where Spirits go. If you can get back to your world, so can the Spirits. It's in our best interest to keep you and distract the AST so the Spirits can live in peace. Got it? Save Spirits, save yourself."

Mario turned to Rabbid Luigi and Rabbid Peach, dancing together, and then turned back to Kotori.

"I'm-a in."

Kotori nodded. "Good. For now, get used to the city. You'll be staying in it for a while."

Mario laughed. "At least I won't-a need to escape from it!" Kotori shot him a look and Mario shut up and left Fraxinus.

* * *

Tamae looked excited as usual. It's another day in homeroom, and apparently she had a special announcement. "Hello everyone! Are you excited for what I'm about to tell you? An assistant teacher is joining our class today!" ...And the assistant teacher was a sleepy lab-coat person.

"My name is Miss Murasame." Monotone voice, she still needs sleep. "And I'm excited to be here-" She collapsed. She REALLY needs sleep. All Shido could be was dumbfounded. The other students all gasped in the collapse. The only other student who didn't gasp was Origami. Although that was to be expected from her robot tone.

* * *

"Reine... Are you gonna tell me why you became my assistant homeroom teacher?" They were in some sort of lab or computer room, with Reine blankly staring at him with cold eyes.

"...Please, Miss Murasame?" Shido had to use her teacher name, but Reine simply spoke back.

"You can just call me Reine. It would be better if I had a closer eye on you at all times, because Kotori is usually always busy." Speaking of Kotori, she was sitting down behind Reine, legs crossed, eating a lollipop.

"Yeah, I thought you were not dumb to figure that out?"

Shido sighed and crouched to head-level with her sister "Well excuse me for being worried about someone I know. And why exactly are you in this school?"

Kotori twirled her lollipop. "I got permission to come here." She waved her feet, showing visitor slippers, while keeping eye contact with Shido. He sighed in defeat. "Fine, are you gonna tell me why I'm in this room?" Kotori nodded.

"Dealing with the Princess. Reine! Play the video!" Reine silently agreed and turned on some sort of disk, with Kotori grinning.

"I hope you understand the video.. Um..." Seems Reine has trouble with Shido's name.

"It's Shido."

"Ah. Okay. Apologies, Shin." That might have peeved him off.

"Shin-" The screen came on before Shido could start a rant. It seemed to be a dating game. "That's a dating sim. Isn't that the same one that Tonomachi has?"

Kotori shook her head. "Look closer." When Shido looked at the title, it had his name. He could only gasp at the name _'My Little Shido'_ in it. Music played as the intro cutscene began. _Brace yourself_ , Shido thought to himself.

_Special designation disaster beings that exist in a critical space._

_The reason for their appearance and existance are unknown._

_When they appear in our world, they cause spatial quakes and bring great disaster around them._

_They can be dealt with through annilihation by military force, but because they have extremely advanced combat abilities..._

_It is very difficult to annihilate them._

_"Morning, big brother, it's Ririko! Looks like things have gotten pretty bad."_

A girl looking quite similar to Tonomachi's virtual girlfriend was on-screen.

_"But you'll be okay! I'm sure you can do it!"_

_"Hey Shido, you're not trying to HURT or KILL the Spirits, right? But if you let them be, there will be spatial quakes and the town will be destroyed."_

Next up was a girl similar to Origami in hair-length, although this time it was blue.

_"Then what if you tried talking to the Spirits and make them like this world?"_

And finally, a blonde hair girl.

_"That's right. You've heard how everything looks beautiful when you're in love, right?"_

_"Itsuka, that means..."_

_"That means..."_

_"That means..."_

_"In other words, go on dates and make Spirits fall for you!"_

_"Have fun conversations..."_

_"On flirty dates..."_

_"And make them fall in love!"_

_"That's Shido's..."_

_"Itsuka's..."_

_"Big brother's..."_

They all said in union.

_"J-O-B!"_

_"So work hard on your training!"_

As Ririko winked him off, All Shido could think...

_What the living heck did I just witness?_

* * *

"You saw me yesterday." Origami was confronting Shido on a flight of stairs. The sun was setting, and she sure looked intimidating without 100% brightness illuminating her.

"Yeah." Surprisingly calm response.

"Please don't reveal this to anyone. It would be better if you forgot everything else you saw yesterday too." How could he forget that day?

"Are you talking about that girl? Hey, Tobiichi... That girl?"

"She's a Spirit." She replied quickly. "Something I must defeat."

Shido's heart twisted and his stomach clenched. "Are they really that evil?" It's true, they caused destruction. But that girl, that princess. He remembered her face. She was sad. It's like a cliche where she had amnesia.

Origami spoke after a long pause. "Five years ago, my parents were killed by Spirits." She narrowed her eyes at Shido. He felt more intimidated than ever.

* * *

Ririko was going off to another planet, possibly never to see Shido again. She looked at him, prepared for her final words.

"You know what, big brother? Before I go into space, there's something I want to tell you."

"What is it, Ririko?"

"You were supposed to use me to practice making the Spirits fall for you, yes?"

"Yes? What about it?"

"I think.. I think I might REALLY be in love with you!"

Shido 'ah' spoke.

"Can you think of me not as your sister, but as a woman?"

**1: Of course.**

**2: Sorry, I can't.**

**3: I'm not interested in women.**

Shido thought long and hard, and chose the obvious. Option 1.

"Thanks, Big Brother!" Ririko jumped into Shido's arms. "A long distance relationship between Jupiter and Earth will be no problem for us! I love you, big brother!" She pressed his head against her space-helmet. Credits roll. He had achieved a good ending!

"AAAAAALRIGHT! YES! I WON!" Shido shouted, he was... actually playing the dating sim. "Ha! Ho! I rock!" Depressing sight, really. Least he wasn't stuck inside it.

* * *

Mario looked at Rabbid Peach. "So, uh, any info on-a Luigi, Peach or Yoshi?" All Mario got was a shake of the head. "No? Darn-a it..." Mario was worried for all of their safety. They were walking around town, looking at the buildings, and the sky a couple of times. "If Bowser landed in-a this world, it could be bad, for everyone." Dare he not think about it. "Innocent civillians do not-a deserve destruction." He looked around, everyone walking around with their daily lives, sure looking innocent.

He turned to the residential area. _Closed for essential construction_ it said. "Huh. Wonder what that's-a for." Mario shrugged and walked off towards the school street. "Raizen High, huh?" Mario looked up. It was before school so it was A) Dark and B) empty. "I saw-a Shido wearing this uniform. Maybe I can-a meet up with him." Mario folded his arms and waited at the school gates. And whazzam, Shido hath arrivedeth. "Oh. Hey."

"Hey, Mario." Shido looked at the chubby plumber. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting. For-a you. Gotta say it's weird being in this world." Shido replied with a "I know, right?". Mario continued. "The Rabbids and-a I were wondering about our way back home."

Shido 'ah' spoke. "Well, welcome to the party... I think. Reine told me to meet in the physics preperation room today. That's why I'm here so early." Mario nodded and Shido ran forth into the school.

* * *

"..."

"..."

There was a lot of uncomfortable eye contact with Reine and Shido.

"Shin." Reine suddenly spoke to break the silence that came with the eye contact.

"A-Yes.. Reine?" Reine grasped Shido. This was the moment. His first kiss. He stretched his lips out, and Reine just walked away. That's weird. Shido felt something in his ear.

"Daydreaming again?" Kotori snapped. "We have new training for you. Get to it."

"Training? At least it's not that ba-"

* * *

 _"This is part of my training?"_ Shido was currently talking to his own teacher, Tamae. Kotori might as well have sent Shido on a suicide mission because this was very well a suicide mission.

"Good afternoon, Shido." Tamae was clueless on what horror Shido was about to say. "How can I help you?"

Shido prepared himself. He was going to ask something that would shake the foundation of her life, but not his. He looked too nervous.

"Oh come on, Shido!" Kotori yelled from the earpiece that Reine planted. "You want SPIRITS to fall for you? Get in gear!"

Shido spoke to Tamae. "I like your clothes, you picked good ones today-" Reine diverted him.

"Shin. Sweet talk her."

Shido continued. "And I think you're so beautiful we should get married!"

Tamae stopped. The world stopped. Everything around Shido stopped. Maybe this was a big mistake and he should've just gone and ran as soon as possible. "W-Bu-are you ready to take that kind of responsibility...?!" Tamae started to go on. "By the time you can legally marry I'll be in my late 30's but if that's okay with you that should be okay with me-"

"Shin. Make an excuse and get out of there." Reine asked. Kotori added in. "Unless you WANT to marry your teacher."

Shido was quickly on it. "Yeeeah sorry Tamae, gotta go!" Shido RAN outta there like no tomorrow was approaching.

Tamae had sparkles in her eyes. "And I'm sure I can handle everything, it'll be a mess but I'll sort it-!"

Kotori remained calm on the earpiece while Shido could panic and he bumped right into ORIGAMI, knocking them both over. There was a brief moment where Shido could see something, Origami quickly sat up to remove that sight and dusted herself up. Kotori smirked. "Perfect. More training. You're the same age, aren't you? Woo her over too!" Shido sighed.

"Origami. I came to tell you something." Origami looked at Shido with bright intentions. "I... I really like..." He just decided to play it safe and use the same woo-ing method from Tamae. "...your clothes."

"But it's just a uniform." Origami replied.

"I-it looks good on you, is what I'm saying! We should hang out."

"A date." Origami spoke. Shido lost all concetration.

"Wha-"

"A date."

"...Sure."

Awkward silence. Some eerie noise broke the silence though. A SPACIAL QUAKE ALARM. Origami nodded at Shido. She pulled out a photograph. "Since you liked my uniform." She then took off.

Shido looked at the self-photograph of Origami and then spoke to Kotori "Where is that girl landing now?"

"Your location. We'll pick you up and immediately send you back down." Shido felt a churn as he got teleported.

* * *

Mario looked around himself, buildings retracting into the ground. People going into shelters. "What's-a going on...?" "Nobody's been this-a paranoid since I got some hotel..." He looked around, and then remembered the last time it happened. "Wait. This all-a happened because of that-a purple girl! She must've came back here... And when there's smoke, there's-a fire!" Mario put two and two together when he took the AST into account. "Let's-a-go!" Mario shouted with the Rabbids as he ran to the sky misforming on top of the school as he saw military weapons popping out. "I'm... not gonna let you be-a sad again, purple girl!" He looked up at the misforming sky headed straight down for Raizen High School.

**KABOOM.**

Mario looked at the school along with the recently sent-down Shido. The school wasn't in ruin 5 seconds ago. He simply looked at Shido, and both knew what lied ahead. Shido confirmed with Kotori, "Kotori, you absolutely sure I can do this?"

"Yes, I believe in you! You want her to be happy, right?" Shido remembered. That sad look.

"She's right. I don't want her to have that sad face ever again." He walked into the school. Mario looked right. He saw the AST, and nudged the Rabbids to look too. They all pulled out their weapons and walked to the flying women. "Hm. They don't seem to be-a attacking them in the building. Stay-a low for now..." Mario ducked for cover as he peered his eyesight out, weapon in tow.

Sunset filled the school that Shido was climbing up. It's strange. The exact location of the destruction was his own classroom. He feared for death to come over. But he opened the door. His classroom was usually bright and happy. Now it's just barren and wasteful. Only he and one other person were in it. He turned his gaze to the other person. That same armored girl from before...!

The girl turned and faced Shido. She pulled out her sword and sliced at him. Through a miracle, he survived. "W-wait! I'm not here to hurt you!" The girl slowly lowered here while Shido raised his arms, showing no harm. "I am not here to harm you in any way. I only wish to talk."

The girl slowly lowered her sword "You.. won't... kill me? You... talk?" Shido replied with a calm nod. "You don't? You're... not armed?" The girl looked at Shido. He couldn't even HIDE a weapon if he tried.

"I'm not. Because I want to talk." Shido confirmed.

"How.. do I know... you're not tricking... Wait." The girl had a memory, at least. "This isn't the first time we've crossed paths, isn't it?"

"That's right." No use hiding it. "We met the day before. April 10th."

"Ah. I remember. You said the same thing before." Shido sheepishly smiled but the girl pinned him to a wall. "You said you would never be able to kill me, but I now know that was a lie. Why else would you come here?!" That sad look from before...

"That face... how come you look so sad?" The girl was taken aback.

"I'm not trying to hurt you, I promise-!"

"Quit lying! Every human I've ever met has attempted to kill me! What makes you different?"

"It's.." Shido paced and got an answer from Fraxinus. "It's because I'm interested in you. I want you to allow yourself to be free. I can show you so many things!"

"W-Like, serious?" The Spirit had changed her tone to childish.

"Serious."

"One hundred percent serious serious?"

"One THOUSAND percent serious serious!"

She rubbed her head, confused, but was persistant. "Urgh.. Idiot! Dummy! Who would fall for such words?!"

Shido was genuinely confused. "But that was from the heart-!" But the Spirit continued.

"But then again this is different. You're the first human I've ever had a normal conversation with..." She folded her arms. "You could be useful to me, and it might just work! Alright, it's settled!"

Shido was... relieved that he wasn't going to be immediately "Yeah, thanks I guess, ah- what was your name?"

Back to this conversation again. "A name? I don't have one, but I suppose I'm gonna need one if I want to know more about this world. Alright, what name do you want to give me?"

Kotori sighed from Fraxinus. "Well, she's certainly putting us to work, isn't she? Alright, crew! We need to think of a name on the double!" Names came on the double. They... were horrible. Kotori even suggested to get more crew membets on the scene, but more terrible names came. "Not Clarabelle; the 1970's are over, I don't even know how to pronounce THAT name, and what name is Elizabeth?!" She saw a name that could at least work. "What about TOME?! Eh?"

"Tome..." Shido repeated. "Tome sounds nice, right?"

Fraxinus watched as 'Tome' had her emotions plummet as she fired a blast at Shido, him turning pure white over fear.

"Do not think I don't know whether or not a human is trying to trick me."

"Okay, okay! Let me think!" Shido panicked.

_Disclaimer: No offences to anyone named Tome._

_"Come on..."_ He looked at her sad face. _"There has to be a name..."_

"How about..." Shido started with the girl looking up. "Toh...ka...? Tohka, yeah?"

"Tohka... I... I think that could work." Shido chalked up 'Tohka' on the blackboard.

"Is this how it's written?" The girl asked, with Shido nodding in confirmation. She copied with mana, literally carving up the board with writing 'Tohka' on the board.

"Tohka..." The girl smiled. "I think I like it. Thank you." She smiled.

Shido was taken aback... but his thought process was immediately halted. _"Tohka is just a simpler meaning for.. The 10th.. The day we met. But hey, she'll never need to know that."_

 **"GET DOWN AND TAKE COVER!"** Kotori yelled on the earpiece, as Shido got down, bullets being stopped by Tohka's shield. **  
**

* * *

"Hmm?" Mario peeked out of the cover. He saw bullets being fired from the AST. "Mama-mia! They decided to strike! Rabbid Peach! Your-a move!" Rabbid Peach raised her gun and fired in-between the AST members. "You-a missed." But all the AST members turned to Mario & Co. "Or not... nice-a thinking!" They all dived after Mario except for Origami who was also in the air. "That's-a right! All eyes on me, you big bullies!" Mario leapt up and ran towards the school's exterior, chasing around it while firing gunshots upwards.

"Shido..." Tohka asked. "What.. do I do? You should go... I don't want you getting hurt."

"I'm staying right here!" Shido was having none of his own safety and sat down. "Sit down. I want to talk to you some more. So have a seat. Pretend those people in the sky aren't even here."

"...Alright..." She stepped closer to Shido and sat down, bullets firing on them blocked by a simple shield.

"Dammit..." Origami cursed. "Where's everyone else?" She noticed the rest of the AST tracking down Mario. "When it comes to it myself..." Origami prepared her land-battle equipment and turned to the dust pile gathering up on Tohka's shield.

"...So, if you're not HUMAN, what exactly are you?" Shido questioned during the midst of all the chaos.

"I'm not sure. I lost all memory, it's like I wake up, and then the Mecha-Mecha squad come up and attack me."

"Mecha-Mecha?"

"Them." She pointed her head. "The noisy flying people."

"Oh, I see."

A fanfare played on the communicator in Shido's ear. "Great job, Shido! Her happiness levels are rising! Now's a good time to do what you've been trained to ask!" Shido gulped.

"Y-you sure?"

Tohka glared. "You seemed to be murmuring a lot... Are you actually secretly gonna kill me? I must..." She raised her finger and began charging up mana energy.

"Wah, no I-..."

The entire Fraxinus chanted "Ask her out! Ask her out! Ask her out!"

"ALRIGHT I'LL ASK HER OUT JUST LEMME DO IT" Shido yelled and looked at Tohka. "Tohka, I know this is sudden, but will you go on a date with me?!"

Tohka stared blankly. "What's a date?"

Origami blasted through into the school and directly went for Origami, her blocking with her shield. "How rude!" Origami jumped back and landed next to Shido.

"He's not your shield." She said with her monotone voice. "I'll make you pay for using him."

"Sandalphon!" Tohka shouted. The ground around her and came a giant golden throne behind her. Shido saw it before. Her first meeting. It already was standing there. Tohka jumped up and grabbed the sword from the throne and pointed at Origami.

"Shido," Kotori chirped. "You need to get out of there NOW. The Fraxinus will come to retrieve you."

"And leave her here to die?!" But Shido had no time to argue, as he was blasted away with a sword swipe aimed at Origami, and Mario saw Shido being flung out.

"SHIDO!" Mario called out, before turning back to the AST members. "You just-a made Mario angry."

* * *

"Junior...? Kamek...? Koopalings?... Where are you?"

A familiar evil voice called out.

"What crystal did I touch to deserve this? Mario...! I'll find you...!"


	5. Date Or Live

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mario's in trouble. Uh oh.

It's night time. Origami was being supported onto a medical bed. She was unable to defeat a Spirit who crashed the school. Nobody was there to support her. They were busy on a new threat. A threat not even a Spirit could reach. An overweight plumber and two bunnies. That wasn't very threatening on the surface, but deep down, they put up a serious fight. The commander yelled. "Don't you know you could've been killed? You can't afford to be reckless!" The medical bed carried Origami into the whirring helicopter above, a blank look remained on Origami as the commander continued. "You're a valuable member of the AST, okay? So start acting like it!" The bed carried Origami off hearing range from the commander.

Mario looked at the carried-away Origami from cover. He felt guilt. He attacked someone he didn't know. "Mama-mia... Should I really be-a doing this?" He turned to the Rabbids in question, who were picking at their own weapons. Rabbid Peach taking selfies of course. "As-a expected.. I'm on my own..." Mario felt stupid. He could have prevented this if he just took Bowser back to Earth with him on the Odyssey. "Bowser, I'm-a sorry..." Mario ran away from cover and the AST, deciding to crash by for the night-Wait, he experienced this all in one day...

"Where do I-a sleep?" Mario looked around the pitch-black city only dimmed lightly by... streetlights. "Mama-mia.. I've never felt this-a hopeless since I lost Luigi that one-a time..."* Mario walked around the cold of the night. He eventually found a forest. "Ah. That-a forest park looks good... Maybe we can make a campfire there..." Mario wondered in with the Rabbids. He found firewood and started a fire. "Goodnight... Luigi..." He closed his eyes for his first night in the strange world.

* * *

"I was there when it happened." Next morning, Shido was at school, and it was closed for very good reason: The school was destroyed. A minor inconvinience. "But this mass destruction doesn't seem real..."

"i... do..."

"But yesterday was real. A Spirit showed up, named Tohka. I was the one who gave her that name. I DID meet her..."

"Hey... ...ido.."

"And gave her peace..."

"Quit ignoring me!"

"H-huh!?" Shido was snapped back into reality and turned to the figure on top of rubble: Tohka herself. "Tohka?!"

"Just now you notice?" She smiled. "Weeeeell, you are so dumb!" She giggled at Shido's expense.

"B-but how did you get here? The spacial quake alarm never went off!" Tohka landed in front of Shido: Perfect height for a girl.

"Why would it? You're the one who invited me back... For a date, I think? Well, it's time to get going! Let's go let's go let's go let's go-!" She yelled like a parrot.

Shido caved in. "Okay, okay! I get it! And you should probably get out of THAT first." He pointed at her armor, which did look it could be picked out of a crowd.

"Right now? You want me to undress in broad daylight?" She shifted awkwardly and blushed, looking at Shido in concern. In which he panicked.

"No, that's not what I meant!-" Shido turned on a lightbulb. "Here, let me show you an example." He pulled out a photo of Origami in her school uniform. Turned out it's useful after all. Tohka took the photo from his hands.

"You think this is acceptable? Wait, why are you walking around with this picture?" She asked judgily, Shido replying with "just do it". She caved in and raised her hand. In an instant her armor evaporated into purple mana, as she slowly formed a school uniform out of freaking nowhere, having perfect heights. "There. How does this look?" She smiled at Shido.

"A-ah... It looks... good."

"Great! Now let's start our date!" Those four words... They can only end in disaster from now on.

* * *

Mario woke up, the sun managed to evade all the leaves in the park and onto his face. "Of-a course... The sun's never-a kind to me." He got up and looked around the park. Nobody was there. Good. Nobody saw him sleeping in the middle of nowhere. "Alrighty..." He tapped the Rabbids awake, in which they JUMPED awake. "Let's-a-go save this world!" He was immediately stopped as he saw Shido and Tohka in the distance, walking together. "Hmm. Looks like they-a made peace. I better not interfere-" His thoughts were interrupted when he saw a fancily dressed Kotori going into a restaurant. "Oooor I could help her." Mario smirked as he dived towards the restaurant without any detections from Shido and Tohka.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the date...

Tohka was looking through the window at some kinako bread. "Oooh, is this a date, Shido? Tell mmmeeeeeeee!"

Shido walked out, just buying the stuff. "No, it's kinako bread. You eat it. Like... put it in your mouth and swallow?"

"I know what eating is..." Tohka slowly ate the stuff. She exploded in happiness and ate and ate. At least it kept her happy. "Is THIS the date!?" Shido sighed and replied with "no."

"But this is so delicious! I can't understand how something this delicious can't be called a date!"

"You can call it that if you want..." Seems like Tohka was behind on education. "But it's not a date. Come on, I'll show you eventually..."

Thus the date went, although Shido and Tohka had to avoid necessary blow-ups from the latter. Shido really has work cut out if he's dating a SPIRIT. Insecure Tohka was mostly stopped from destroying entire cities with mana. They were walking around the city until Tohka saw a kid putting away garbage and in return getting a head pat from his mother. Tohka had a bright idea, quickly scoffed the food effortlessly and put the wrappers into the bag and rushed at Shido and bowed her head IN ANGER. Seems like she wanted the same treatment, her hair bow bouncing comically. Shido sweated and pat her head, getting a cute expression.

"What about now? This moment? Is this a date?" She asked.

"Not quite, but you're getting closer."

"Dates are complicated matters... Oh, what's that?!" She pointed another food stand.

"How can you still be hungry-?!" Shido gave chase, being eyed by the three girls that sticked together: Ai, Mai and Mii.

"Am I cray, or is Shido with a new girl?"

"Oh my gosh, does that mean Shido's cheating on Tonomachi?!"

"That's so lame!"

Origami, further away and hidden in a dark alley, munched on food herself and kept a close eye on Shido and Tohka. "That girl... I know she's a Spirit... But there's no readings..." She checked survellience, and all readings came innocent.

Shido and Tohka arrived in front of a diner. "What place is THIS?" Tohka's curiosity could kill Shido. He looked at the pricings and raised his hairs.

"An.. expensive one."

Tohka thought but proceeded. "I don't know what that means, I'm going in-!"

Suddenly, a spiky-hair boy approached Shido. "Yo, Shido." Shido turned. It's Tonomachi, his best friend. Tonomachi then noticed Tohka. "My, that's some sweet action." He got uncomfortably close to Shido. "How did you manage to pull one off without me knowing? I'm a little jealous, Shido!" He scratched Shido's cheek.

"Yeah, a lot has happened recently..." He couldn't finish his sentence as Tohka had already walked into the diner.

"Woah, and fresh off the bat! Don't worry about it, my girl's got pretty expensive tastes too." Tonomachi said as he pulled out his phone.

 _"Right.. his VIRTUAL girlfriend."_ Shido mentally facepalmed.

"Listen, I wanna help you. Someone gave me these tickets, but I think they'll help you scoreland this girl! You're welcome in advance!" He did a weird twil and pulled out two high-currency tickets. "Tell me how it goes." Shido could not even process what just happened as Tonomachi walked away. Only one thing to do. Head into the diner. And so he did. It was definitely on the higher end of the spectrum. Clean carpets, stainless walls, and carefully laid out tables. Shido turned to the waiter-

"How may I help you today." A certain sleepy-eyed woman was awaiting Shido.

"Reine? What are you-" Reine slapped his face with a book as he quieted his tone. "What are you doing here...?!"

"Keeping an eye on Princess. We have to track her emotions. She's been waiting for you." Reine pointed at an idly seated Tohka, who waved.

"Hey Shido! Over here! Why are you so late?" Shido sat down.

"Yeah, sorry." He looked around and could've sworn he recognised some of the customers inside the diner. That wouldn't even come close to what he'll see.

"What's up kittens, ready to order?" Shido looked at the waitress and almost lost his lunch. It was a red-pigtail girl.

"Kotori?! Wh-wh-Wh..?!" Now he got smacked by a dinner plate.

Tohka read through the menu. "This looks good, but so does this... I wonder which of these is the date?" She eyed the menu, everything looked good for her because it was food.

"Hey if you guys can't decide, I have a suggestion for you! The 'how-about-this?'!"

"What does that one come with?" They both said together at the same time. 5 seconds later, a dish with all of it was in front of their faces. Shido could only think. _"Should be called What's with all this...!"_ But it didn't take Tohka long to start eating ALL of it and enjoying every second of it. She munched like a hungry pig at a pancake buffet.**

"What are you pulling here, Kotori?" Shido lowered his voice.

"Thank you works too! We're pulling all the stops for this to be a successful date! Now, after this, I need you to head south."

"But that's just a resident-"

"Okay bro, I trust you." She walked and turned her head to Shido. "Now, let's begin our date." The camera cut to Tohka, happily drinking a smoothie. The waiter came to ask their tickets.

"May I-a see your paying tickets, sir and ma'am?" That Italian accent was all too familiar. Shido looked up. It was a chubby dwarf-man with a fancy suit of old ages.***

"MARIO?! I-I don't even know why I'm shocked at this point." Shido footed Mario the two tickets as Mario took them. "Good-a luck, Shido." Mario gave a thumbs up and winked. Shido sighed of nervousness and happiness as he took the still-eating Tohka out of the diner.

* * *

Who knows what happened, but during the time that Shido was stalled by Mario and Kotori, the residential area that Shido mentioned was now a full-blown market with all sorts of food buffets. It was only for one thing: Tohka bait. Speaking of her, she was pointing at some fish in the water. "Oh, what's that? Can I eat them?!"

"No, well, yes, you can, but not those..."

"And the red ones-!" Tohka continued. "They're so fast!"

"Yeah, the red ones are three times as fast as the normal ones. Not sure why they're here though... Huh?" Shido averted his gaze to a shopping market; that wasn't there before.

"CONGRATULATIONS!" A man suddenly appeared in front of their faces, with confetti everywhere. "You two are this shopping market's 100,000th visitor! So we have a special gift for both of you! Everything you eat here will be FREE!" He presented the shopping market, with a bunch of people saying "congratulations!". Tohka, out of her curious nature, ran towards the market, pointing at everything. Shido had to catch up.

"Oh this, and this, and this!" Tohka pointed and consumed at every single item she saw that was edible.

"Slow down, eat as much as you want, it's free..." Shido turned to the happy faces. They were all beaming and cheering for the couple. "How did this happen.."

"Shido... I'm having fun... Are you?" Tohka looked at his face with concern. This was her first genuine friend. "I'm having fun on this date, and the look on your face is worried, and that makes me worried-are you mad at me...?" She looked like she was going to cry.

"Wha? No, I'm in a great mood! I just have a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Promise you're having a good time?"

"Best time ever."

"I really hope you're not lying."

"I'm not, I swear. I really enjoyed today." His eyes squinted. Now he was gonna cry. Tohka's eyes lit up, and took his hand, and Shido blushed.

"Then let's get the most out of this date!" She smiled and looked at him.

Shido smiled. "Sure. Wherever you need to me to go," He held her hand. "I'll follow."

* * *

Mario was setting up decorations for the shopping market, eyeing Shido and Tohka. He gave a smile. Meanwhile the Rabbids were messing up all his hard work. "Bloomin'-a Rabbids." He sighed mentally. "I just wish I had a lead on what caused-a us to appear in this world? And did we really make-a the right decision when we attack the AST?" He thought to himself as footsteps approached him.

"Helping Shin?" Mario turned his head to the voice. A sleepy-hair woman he just met at the expensive diner.

"Oh. It's-a Reine!" Mario jumped down from his ladder, landing on his feet in front of Reine. "Yeah. I'm-a setting up some stuff for his-a date. Need-a anything?"

"I just wanted to confirm the beings from your world." Mario's interest peaked. "I have seen some other strange beings roaming around. One such being is a Rabbid like them," She pointed at Rabbid Luigi and Rabbid Peach. "Only being wearing your attire. Red hat, blue overalls."

Mario's eyes shrunk. He may have well lost his mind. "R-Rabbid Mario?" He went into a state of minor panic. "That must-a mean that other worlds are affected by this-a world! Rabbid Mario wasn't even with-a us!" He looked to Reine in fright, the latter not even showing a sign of emotion. "How can you keep-a going like this?! I'm clearly in a state of panic and dread..! Luigi's out there somewhere, and so are-a the other Rabbids! The princess, Yoshi, Bowser... Everyone.."

"The will to keep going is your will to save them. Do you not wish to save them?" Reine replied. Mario gasped. He was the only one who could save them. The Rabbids were reliable but not at the same time.

"You're.. right... Sorry, Reine." Reine nodded slightly.

"Mario, I have to ask. What dangers have you brought? Are you unaware of this fire dragon?"

"Bowser?" Mario might as well have lost his mind again. "I mean, he's gone-a crazy. He burned my entire kingdom to-a ash! I won't stand for it!" His eyebrows narrowed. "Anything for the princess' order to be retained! I shall stay strong!" He raised his fist, with Reine awkwardly looking at him.

Just then, to break the awkwardness, it started raining. Reine noticed. "Strange. There weren't any rainclouds in the vicinity." Kotori chirped in Reine's earpiece.

"Who knows? Maybe it's for the best." Mario turned his gaze and noticed Shido and Tohka headed for an arcade of some sorts. "Seeking-a shelter. I should probably do that too. Not like this-a decorating is getting anywhere..." He turned to the Rabbids, who have torn down all of Mario's hard work, reducing it to nothing and them laughing like children. Mario sighed. "Get to-a shelter, Reine. I'll catch up with you." Mario ran to the arcade. Reine watched with a serious and unexpressive emotion on her face. Something about her... How did she know so much about Mario?

* * *

Tohka's yelling shook the whole arcade. "WHERE DID YOU BRING ME?!" She observed the machinery. "Is this the secret base of the Mecha-Mecha Squad?!" She quickly darted her eyes left and right, being more paranoid than a badger with survival skills.****

"No, it's just an arcade, calm down." They walked down the arcade, and Tohka saw a kinako bread plush. It didn't take long for her to attempt the game, inevitably losing. She pressed her face against the glass in anger, steaming it up.

"WHY WON'T YOU DROP THE CHICKEN? Shido, tell this thing to co-operate!"

"Calm down, it's difficult, you have to have a strategy."

"Okay, but how?"

"Maybe there's another easy one... Like that cat plush one!" Shido pointed.

But Tohka refused. "That's not the one I want. I want the chicken." Shido caved in.

"Maybe there's another one around here..." He, of course, ignored any distractions, like one man he recognised from Fraxinus offered to cheat because he was already inside the claw machine, imitating a claw.

Shido eyed around, eventually spotting a peculiar one sticking out. _That looked easy_ , he thought.

"Okay, I've got it. I'll control this button over here, and you control that one! When I give the signal, let go. We'll do this together." Shido's eyes met Tohka's and they were both set on winning this, no matter what. They inserted the quarter into the machine. One turn. This was all that mattered. Shido's turn to move the crane horizontally. He did. Waiting for the perfect chance. He let go and Tohka immediately took the vertical controls. The crane slowly veered to that outstanding plush. And it was over it- "Now, let go! Let go of the button!" Shido shouted, with Tohka, anger in her face, let go of the button. The crane dropped and grabbed the plush, gripping it. Tohka was happy, but Shido reminded her, it's not actually over. The crane dropped the plush, and it somehow weaved it's way _above_ the drop-off box. That... could have been rigged.

"Ah, sorry. That was my fault. I didn't give clear instructions. Let's go." Shido sighed and walked off.

Tohka, however, was NOT ready. "Drop the chicken!" She yelled at the arcade machine. "Drop it, please! Why won't you listen to me..." She gripped the button she used. "Shido and I worked so hard on it!"

"Tohka, cal-"

"Please! You have to! I don't know what I would do! We worked together! Drop it PLEEEEEASE!" She yelled which would certainly grab attention. As if some god were to dare answer her prayer, it was now. The plush somehow weaved it's way (on it's own, mind you) into the slot, and presented itself as a prize. Who knows what could have done it. It wasn't Mario, either. Tohka looked at Shido. Shido looked at Tohka. They accomplished it.

"WE DID IT!" They yelled as sunset entered the screen.

* * *

"...So yeah, trains can't transform, but they DO connect to each other." Shido was telling Tohka all about how the world works and what to do and what not to do, like flicking mana across cities.

"Wooow... So, you taught me all these amazing things, but what I don't understand is a date... What IS a date?" Tohka asked, curiously.

Shido sighed. "A date is just when a boy and a girl go out and have fun together."

Tohka 'oh' parted her lips. "Oh, I see. Well in that case, I'd say we had a WONDERFUL date today!"

Seems like Tohka had much to learn. Shido sighed again. Tohka filled the silence. "I like dates. They're nice."

What Tohka and Shido WEREN'T aware of was that Origami had a GUN in her hand, in her AST outfit, pointing at Tohka with no sign of shaking or stuttering. There was no Spirit happiness, only destruction. "I can't believe it... A Spirit comes to this world, doesn't blow up anything, then connects with a human boy..." There was a conversation on her communicator. Origami replied. "Permission to shoot?"

"Not yet. We still have to wait for orders from the captain. It's still strange that a girl who looks just like Princess is able to present so much Spirit Po-What's that? What?!" Origami zoomed in her gun. "We've got permission to shoot?!"

Shido and Tohka smiled, with the latter speaking. "Now I understand why the Mecha Mecha attack me. They don't want something this beautiful to get ruined. They don't want that risk. So... Shido... maybe it's better if I didn't exist at all."

Shido clenched his fist, gasping and refusing to accept it. "Well I guess you just can't go back! Have you, ever thought of, for just one day, that you'd stay in this world? You can stay and make so many friends and see so many good things about our world!"

"B-but.. I'll need food and a place to stay... What if we're not ready?"

"I'm going to take care of you, I promise!" This left Tohka stunned. Shido held out his hand. "Take my hand. That's the only thing I ask you for." Tohka, really unsure, finally trusted him. If he was with him, the man who guided her, then that'd be fine. She reached out her hand to nearly touch his, and Shido's life flashed before his eyes. Origami was pointing her gun.

* * *

Mario ran and ran and ran. He spotted Origami from a very far distance, thanks to the far-eyed Rabbids. Rabbid Peach used her phone to zoom in, and when Mario saw the action, he had to run and stop Origami. Never before, not even in the Olympics*****, had he run so fast. No matter what people told him to do, how many people he bumped along the way, his mission was to save Spirits. They're human too. He ran upstairs to the park where they were, the sun beaming on his sweaty skin, and Mario looked at the scene. Once, just once, he could scream, but he couldn't, not even the Rabbids screamed.

For Shido has had an acid-green bullet pierced right through him and the plush that was won. Pools of blood gathered around the dead body of Shido. He pushed Tohka out of the way to save her, and ended up dying in the process. Mario couldn't vomit. He could, but he resisted. He realised what Tohka could possibly do and realised it before she could. She wrapped her blazer around Shido's corpse.

"I thought... I thought if you were there, and I was there with you, you would be okay. WE would be okay... We'd have trouble, but we'd get through it... but it's all over now... You're gone now...!" Tohka menacingly turned to the distant Origami. "THIS WORLD HAS REJECTED ME!" She chanted something, as her armor from before appeared, replacing her clothes, and the giant golden throne that Mario was familiar with came from the ground.

If he weren't to do anything, the city would be destroyed.


	6. Seal The Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to save the princess! Not Peach, sadly.

Mario couldn't scream. He was too scared to. His friend Shido had died from Origami, of whom Mario failed to ward off. The only thing Mario could do now, was wait for Tohka's wrath. He looked onward to Tohka, shivering slightly.

Tohka, already, was too late in reasoning with. She pulled out her giant sword, Sandalphon, and she shouted "Halvanhelev!" She swung at her own throne, causing the throne to break. The pieces magically gathered around Sandalphon. Eventually building up toward the sword, causing it to grow to enormous lengths. She jumped up and pointed the sword VERY CLOSE to Origami, despite Tohka being far, to give you a grasp on how big it is. "It was... you.. You killed him. I saw it. You shot him."

"I... did..." Origami was stunned. She couldn't pick up on anything. She couldn't grasp what she had done. Killed Shido. "I.. killed him..." Tohka was swinging her sword rapidly, Origami's shield barely protecting herself from all damage, it would be a miracle that it wouldn't break. "I'm like them... The Spirits... I killed a man..."

Mario panicked. Luckily, he also had a communicator. He quickly tapped it. "Kotori? You better have a backup plan for-a this!" Mario was on the verge of yelling. How could he not? He witnessed DEATH.

Kotori, however, was ignoring Mario, more focused on Tohka's destruction than Shido's death. "Hm, well, if she breaks out like this when Shido's gone, clearly he's a knight in shining armor and clearly SHE'S not worth our trouble."

One of the Fraxinus crew members finally spoke up. "Commander, what about Shido?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about him." How smug. "My bro won't be finished off by something like that." Everyone gasped and turned to the screen. There, on Shido's blood wound, was a blue flame, slowly sealing the wound with more flesh, gaining him back life. "There it is."

"HOOOOT HOTHOTHOTHOT!" Shido rapidly smacked the fire to put it out. After putting it out, he had the sudden realisation. "Where am I?" He looked around. Hadn't he been shot before?

The crew members gasped. "What is the meaning of this?!"

Kotori simply smiled. "I said it once and I'll say it again, when Shido dies, he's able to start a new game. Waste no time, we gotta save the Princess. And I know just how to do that." Within an instant, Shido was teleported. Mario gasped. The Rabbids gasped.

"Did I just-a see him come back to life without a 1-Up Mushroom?!" Mario was baffled. "Uuuh, I don't-a know if I should attack someone who's-a already defenseless! Uuuuh..." Mario looked around, all he could do was watch it all play out.

Tohka raised her sword one more time. She had broken Origami's defense, with the latter coughing blood. "Shido... This is for you."

"Mom.. Dad..." Origami closed her eyes, awaiting fate. "I'm sorry..."

"I will avenge you, Shido!" Tohka was about to swing her sword down until she heard a familiar voice.

"TOOOOOOHKAAAAAA!" Shido was plummeting sky-high from ABOVE her, goodness knows. Must've been Fraxinus. Tohka completely ignored the suffering Origami and went for Shido. She caught him.

She was at a loss for words. "I.. I... I'm so happy you came back!" She cried, burying her face in her skin.

"Y-yeah.. I'm back..." So was Shido with the word-loss. He stared at the GIANT DESTRUCTION SWORD next to him. "Uuuuh, Tohka-?! What is this?"

"I unleashed Halvanhelev... If I don't unleash it..."

"You CAN'T unleash it!"

"Then what do I do?"

Kotori bursted into Shido's eardrums. "Now's your chance. Do the method we always told you to." Shido nodded.

"Tohka... To stop this madness, you have to kiss me!"

"Wh-what-"

Shido instantly regretted the decision. "Sorry! I should think of something else."

Curiosity will SAVE the cat. "No, I just don't know what a kiss is!"

"Wh-"

"Tell me and I'll do it!"

Shido gulped. "It's... where you put your lips together and-" Shido didn't even get to finish the sentence. She straight up went in for the kill. She kissed him. Her sword in her hand slowly disintegrated, as well as her Astral Dress. Astral Dress being her clothing. They slowly floated back down, them being silhouettes in the sunset.

"Don't let me go, I'm not ready for you to see me naked yet." She was right. She was bare naked thanks to Shido's kiss and Shido's hands were NOT helping as they were... somewhere on Tohka's body. Shido went red and he tried not to move whilst screaming inside.

"Gotcha!" Mario called out as he tossed a long blanket. Without hesitation, Shido wrapped the blanket around Tohka.

"Thanks, Mario, but where did you get these blankets?"

"Let's just-a say I camped outside last night." Mario gave a subtle hint. Shido gave a happy sigh.

"You could've just stayed at our house. You're always welcome."

"Stayed at your house..." Both Tohka ground-level and Kotori Fraxinus-level muttered.

* * *

"What's with this stinking island?"

A dragon roar came after that statement. A certain figure leapt on the screen. A giant turtle with horns on his head and awesome red hair. It was Bowser, Mario's arch-enemy, and currently sane and not Spirit-induced crazy. Currently, he was on a crossaint-shaped island. He looked around the paradise and saw no useful material. "Bad luck? Ech... What was I doing after I blacked out?" Bowser tried to recall. He remembered the Moon, the place he got ditched back on... A cave... and a crystal. Some figure gave him the crystal.

"That figure! I must punch the heck out of her!" Bowser came to his classic conclusion. Luckily, nobody was around to witness the presence of the Koopa King. He stomped around the island, starting his hunt for the phantom.

* * *

A job well done, Mario thought. "Wahoo, We-a saved Tohka!" Wonder what Shido's-a up to?"

Cut to Shido, who was just at a complete faze-out when he saw that Tohka was already transferring into his school. "Hi! My name's Tohka Yatogami! It's a pleasure to meet you all!" Jealous envies came from the entire class on how cute and innocent she was. Shido could only prepare himself for a rough life when Tohka decided to sit right next to him.

Cut back to Mario. He gave a thumbs up to the Rabbids. "Thank-a you for helping!" His praise was cut short when the school bell rang and it started to rain. Odd... "Wasn't it only a 10% chance of rain...?" Mario thought. He ran back to Shido's house, in which Shido gave him directions to. That's when Mario stopped. He saw a human girl with blue hair.

And she was carrying a bunny puppet. The trio could only be reminded of Calavera. Except this felt a lot uneasier.

"This-a girl seems happy to play in-a the rain..."


	7. Frozen Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Spirits and New allies will have Mario wishing for sweet death.

* * *

Mario was gone from the shrine because he felt uneasy. Shido had quickly caught up after Tohka zoomed off some other direction, going 'home', although the air-head gourmet Spirit had no home to call. "Man, this weather's been really off lately." That's right, it was raining, just like when Mario went outside. "So much for only a 10% chance of rain." He ran more. He eventually stopped at the same shrine that Mario went to, and he noticed something.

A little girl, with a green hood with bunny ears and blue hair. She was also carrying a bunny puppet, playing around in the puddles. She leapt one too many times and flopped onto the ground. Shido, being the 'Mr-Nice-Guy' he is, quickly went over to her. "Hey, are you alright?!" The girl looked at him. And faster than anyone could preserve, she backed up against a tree. "Guess not." Shido came to a conclusion.

"Don't hurt me..." was all that came out of the girl's mouth. "P-please don't hurt me..." Shido gasped. The AST must have broken her spirits (no pun intended) to make friends. "Please..." Again and again came the pleaing. That was all that was remembered.

* * *

Cut to present times, and Shido had to get home or he'd drown in the rain. Not literally, but still. He took off his shoes. "Kotori, I'm home!" He didn't notice the extra pair of shoes placed next to his recently placed shoes. "I'm gonna take a shower."

He walked up to the shower, entered the room and then opened the shower curtains... Only to reveal a completely naked Tohka taking a shower in there. They both stared at each other for a bit. Tohka was the first to completely blush and punch Shido in the face. "GET OUT!" were her words before Shido nearly blacked out. It took less than 10 seconds for him to be out of the shower. He ran downstairs to the possible suspect.

"Kotori, why is Tohka in our house?" Kotori, who was wearing innocent white ribbons as opposed to her black ones, was sitting at an awkward position on the couch. When Shido leaned over to check, he found Mario sitting on the couch next to Kotori. Shido couldn't see him at first because of Mario's small size. "And Mario too?! Sigh... Please, Kotori?"

Mario turned to Shido. "Oh. Hey-a Shido. You told-a me that I was-a welcome in your home, so here I am!" He also gestured towards the secondary couch, which had a sleeping Rabbid Luigi & Rabbid Peach. Kotori also turned to face Shido.

"Oh, welcome back, bro!"

"Thanks."

"..."

Shido realised.

"Don't change the subject!"

"What? Tohka and Mario's staying here. It's not gonna be forever, y'know?"

"Hey, Shin, we need to talk." In comes Reine, using sugar cubes in coffee.

"Reine?!"

"Oh... Sorry. Am I using too much sugar?"

"No..." Shido sighed as him, Kotori and Reine sat down at the dining table while Mario, Rabbid Luigi & Rabbid Peach sat down on the couch. "So..." Shido continued. "What's going on?"

Reine gave the scoop. "You have kissed Tohka. You sealed her power. There is an invisible path that now connects both of you together."

"A seal?"

Kotori added in. "We're not sure why, but you just have the natural ability to seal Spirits. As for the Tohka situation, we're letting her stay. We have an extra room for her too. She'll be great training."

"Training?" Shido caught that last word. Surely Tohka could be happy here. "But Tohka's sealed! I won't need to worry about her-"

"Did I mention Tohka was the only Spirit around?" Kotori gave a cold glare. Shido gasped. He might have seen- "There are more out there. They are all the same. They require saving. The AST have broken their wills to live." Kotori, all the while, was looking down in shame.

"May I continue..." Reine interrupted. "We need you to keep talking to women. The world needs you to keep talking to women. To stop Spacequakes, and to save the world."

"Well, that's great... but I still don't get why I have to live with Tohka." And just when Shido said that, guess who came into the room? Tohka. Mario looked over the couch and realised what a day this would be.

"I understand... I shouldn't be here at all.." She looked like she was about to cry, which Shido tried to calm it down.

"No, that was my fault, I'm sorry."

* * *

Shido slammed his belongings on the desk. "Why is my fate that bad?"

"Shido!" Kotori yelled. "The light's out in the bathroom! Go change it right now!"

"Sigh... yes... I'm on it, Kotori!" Within a few seconds, he was already downstairs, carrying a bulb in his hand. "She's REALLY bossy when in 'commander' mode." He made his way to the bathroom door. "I've been doing it all the time, but-" He opened the door to the bathroom - only to find Tohka sitting right there.

"Tohka, what are you-?"

"HURRY UP AND CLOSE IT!" She palmed Shido in the face. He got knocked to the floor, toilet paper in hand. Must've been hit with said toilet paper. Honestly could have been a plunger.*

Kotori walked down the stairs, lollipop in mouth and the most smug look in her face. "You rushed. What a disgrace."

"On purpose-?!"

"Training. Face any situation calm and collected. I'm only helping for your own good."

Shido sighed. There was no escape from this personal hell. Tohka opened the door. "Tohka! I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine.. but..." She pointed to the toilet paper without leaving the door. "Can you please hand me that...?"

After washing his hands (and possibly his mind to get rid of the images he saw), Kotori came in the living room. "Shido, the bath is ready. Go wash up first."

Shido had war flashbacks of Tohka in the shower and the bathroom. He wasn't going to fall for THAT trap. "Uh, no thanks, you can use it first. You can use these," He pulled out a container of 'puff bath salts' "if you want." At the sight of the bath salts, Kotori instantly jittered. _"She never gives up first dibs when she's got these... She should know not to underestimate me..."_ Kotori looked like she was about to break. _"I, Shido Itsuka, haven't been living in the same house as you for so long without learning a thing or two!"_

Kotori turned away from the bath salts, skin stretching by her own fingers to prevent ultimate temptation. "Uuuh, n-no thanks... How about you use it first...?" Shido had a confused look, and the look only grew when he saw Tohka.

"Tohka? You're not taking a bath right now?"

"No?"

It didn't take long for Shido to be in said bath. "Maybe I was being too rough..." His relaxation was QUICKLY stopped when he heard Tohka headed for the bathroom. Shido lead himself straight into a trap. All he could think of was Kotori, in pixel shades,** mocking him. _"Not my fault you're so dumb."_ was all he could hear in his head. In a panic, he looked for a place to hide. And that's what hit him: The hot water of the bath. He took a plunge in there since it was green from soap. He waited... And Tohka jumped right in, unaware of Shido and naked... again. She saw bubbles, and arisen has Shido. He awkwardly waved at Tohka. Pure silence.

...

...

...

It didn't take long for her to dip Shido into the water for 'scaring her'. Kotori watched from the distance. "Aaand, another fail."

Shido, after the bath situation, vented out his anger. "This is supposed to be my training? Uuugh..." He flopped onto the bed in defeat.

"I trust you've-a taken care of all situations?" Mario leaned in through the door. He'd also been a wreck due to the Rabbids ruining everything.

"Yeah."

"I hope-a Tohka will understand that this behaviour is only-a tolerable at home."

* * *

As if Mario were to jinx those words, a yell occured in the next morning homeroom castle. "Shido! It's lunchtime!" Shido felt his table being slammed into by another table: Tohka's. His disappointment and attention were on Tohka when he felt another table slam next to him: ORIGAMI. Girl problems.

"What do you want." Tohka pouted. "Leave us alone."

Origami glared back angrily. "Right back at you." Shido could've sworn he heard that line before.***

In a desperate attempt to break the struggle, Shido struggled himself. "Can't we eat lunch TOGETHER?" He sighed and lowered his head as the two girls understood and took their places in their seats. Shido and Tohka opened their lunchboxes, and Origami's hawk eye noticed something. When Shido looked, he knew he was in for a bad time. Not the one with skeletons.****

"Hmm?" Tohka was unaware, because of course she isn't. "What is it? You're not getting my food if you make puppy eyes."

"What is the meaning of this." Origami stared harshly at Shido.

"U-uh.. well.. you see..." Shido panicked. "We brought lunch at the same store earlier... today..."

"Liar." She pulled out the box lid. "You brought this box 154 days ago in a discount shop in front of the station for 1580 yen and have been using it ever since. It was not a pre-packaged lunch." Wow... Okay... Stalker.

"Why and HOW do you know all that?!"

"Not important."

Tohka was still naive. "What... are you both talking about? Don't leave me out." Shido realised he had some sort of girl problem.

Tonomachi, that spiky-hair guy with the mobile girlfriend, slid right in. "Itsuka! My girlfriend needs fashion advice! A nurse? A shrine maiden? A maid? Which would you pick?"

"Who cares if you pick a maid or not-?!"

"Maid it is! Thank you!" Tonomachi slipped out, with both Tohka and Origami staring at Shido. He felt sweat run down. Sweat and more sweat. A familiar alarm both made and ruined his day.

"Attention. There have been signs of a spacial quake in the nearest area. Please evacuate immediately. This is not a drill. I repeat.-"

"Wh-What's going on?" Shido was concerned... to say the least. Origami instantly walked off with the teacher, Tamae, panicking everyone and rushing to get to shelter.

"Evacuate?" Tohka asked curiously.

Reine, the assistant, looked at Shido, and nodded. Shido was really unsure. "I know... she has to stay here... normal human stuff... I just want her to be safe."

"She will be. She'll follow anything like a moth. She's human now."

Tamae rushed in, calling out the 3 stragglers. "Itsuka! Yatogami! Murasame! If you don't evacuate now, you'll be-"

"Can you watch Tohka?" Shido asked which caught Tamae off guard.

"U-uh... sure.. I'll watch over her."

"Shido-" Tohka was worried. Of course she was. Shido was always there for her. And the first time in her lfie...

He was going to be gone.

"I'll be back! I promise!" Shido ran way, others calling his name. But he did not care. Shido called on his intercom. "Mario, you heard the alarm, yes?"

"I did. Meet you at-a Fraxinus!"

"Got it." He ran to meet up with Kotori and Mario.

* * *

"Welcome back! And you too, Shido." Kotori was relaxing on her chair.

"Kind to Mario on purpose?!-"

Kotori ignored Shido's rant again and projected the monitor, showing a blue-hair girl in a green raincoat and a bizarre bunny puppet. "Well, the AFTERMATH anyway. The Spirit already struck." She zoomed out to a crater.

"Hold up-!" Mario and Shido both yelled.

"What?!"

"I've-a seen this Spirit!" Mario added first.

"Me too! It was at the shrine!"

Kotori pouted her lips. "Play close attention. This is live action, after all."

Mario and the Rabbids who were only now paying attention faced the screen. The AST have already arrived. They fired upon the unnamed little girl, and she flew away, not even fighting back.

"!" Shido gasped. "She's going to get killed!"

"You're not supposed to care. She's a Spirit all the same." Kotori said as Shido glued his eyes to the screen. He saw Origami hunting the Spirit down. The Spirit desperately trying to flee.

"Kotori! I want.." Kotori turned to Shido. "To save that Spirit."

"That's more like my big bro! Alright, listen up! Crew, focus on that Spirit." Kotori yelled as Shido ran out. "Mario, you know the drill. Stall the AST!" Mario nodded and ran out with the Rabbids. Mario kept a straight face.

"Let's-a-go."

* * *

Mario arrived outside a mall. This is where the Spirit was: Inside the mall. It was half-destroyed due to the Spirit action. Kotori chirped in.

"Ah, good, indoors. The AST can't handle indoors, remember? We'll leave the Spirit-talking to Shido. Mario, just hold fire until the AST attack."

"You think I haven't-a noticed?!" Mario was swiping the Rabbids' weapons to prevent them from firing recklessly.

"Alright. Good luck." The intercom chipped out. Mario was on his own with the Rabbids. He tipped his hat: That's right. It was still raining. Wait. His hat? Where'd his hat go? He looked to Rabbid Peach, the only one without a hat, and saw that she was wearing Mario's hat to protect herself from the rain.

"Mama-mia... I'm-a gonna freeze out here..." Mario folded his arms to prevent shivering. He was suddenly sheltered. Mario looked up. An umbrella? A voice Mario knew so well came from behind. "Need an umbrella?" That squeaky voice. Mario turned. And he was shocked. There, standing before him, was a small mushroom-head figure with blue polkadots and a blue shirt. Next to that figure, there was a small-mushroom head figure with yellow polkadots and a yellow shirt. Mario has gone on many adventures with these two figures.

"Blue Toad?! Yellow Toad?!" Mario was shocked. The Rabbids had no clue.

Blue Toad was the first to speak. "Hey, Mario! Long time no see! I guess you're stuck in this world too, huh?"

Yellow Toad chimed in. "Wow! I never thought we'd see Mario again! Here of all places!"

"You guys-!" Mario was happy and speechless at the same time.

"Yeah, yeah, shocking, ain't it? We arrived at this school along with your brother-"

"Luigi?!"

"Calm down." Yellow Toad added. "Luigi's safe... I think. He went off to find you rather than to stay with us. But now that we found you... we can't find Luigi." Blue Toad thought while Yellow Toad continued. Mario was curious about something else.

"This world-"

"Yes?"

"-how did you get-a in?"

"There was this strange blue vortex in the sky! Like... Really weird. We were just hanging out in our house when we got dragged into a portal!"

"That-a vortex... The same one over-a Peach's castle? That means it must've grown... Who-a knows how big it got?" Mario was starting to worry.

"We also saw the princess-"

"The princess?" Mario sighed. "I'm-a glad she's safe!"

"Mario, uuuh..." Yellow Toad called out the elephant in the room: The Rabbids.

"Oh. Hee hee." Mario blushed in embarrassment. "This-a here is Rabbid Luigi and-a Rabbid Peach." It's true. Blue Toad and Yellow Toad were never in Mario's kingdom battle to win back the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser Jr. and Spawny.

"Rabbids...?"

"Long-a story. Tell you later. Right now, the elephant in-a the room is up-a there!" Mario pointed up at the AST. They were still outside, not firing. Mario wiped sweat bullets off his face. The Toads hadn't distracted him to the point where it would be lethal. The Toads looked up.

"Are those... human girls?"

"We need to stop-a them. Any weapons?" Mario asked. However, all he got were denial head-nods and shrugs.

Kotori thankfully chimed in, breaking Mario's eardrums with her loud voice. "Lacking weapons? Those mushroom-heads can just be decoys!"

"Decoys? But the AST-"

"Bwah?" Rabbid Peach was tugging at Mario the whole time. She tried explaining something.

Blue Toad seemed to understand. "From what I understand, the imposter Peach saw some purple-hair girl enter the mall... and she's been trying to tell you that."

"Huh." Mario thought. "How long has it-a been since she's been-a tugging me?"

"10 minutes." Yellow Toad gave a blatent answer.

"10 minutes? A lot can-a happen in that-a time. I hope she doesn't get-a jealous with Shido's-a job and that blue-ha-" The wall of the mall came crashing down, luckily shielded by the surprisingly durable umbrella. "WHAT THE-A HECK IS THAT?!" Mario pointed up, followed by gasps. Up there, was a giant white rabbit shark.. thing... freezing up the entire area around it. The AST start shooting, but their bullets freeze up before they even hit the THING. Mario took out his Bwahnzai Bill and opened fire at the AST, but his shot got frozen too. "Crap..."

Rabbid Luigi and Rabbid Peach pointed up, and Mario took his eyes there. There, laying down inside the mall, was Shido and Tohka.

"Curiosity killed the cat...!" Mario looked back up at the giant rabbit shark, and they exchanged eyesights. Mario was angry. The red-eye on the shark flashed, and within a cloud of cold fog, it was gone. "Uuugh... my head..." Mario had gotten a headache as he had been out in the cold for too long. He collapsed while everyone was screaming his name.

* * *

Mario only woke up to the stomping of feet. When he woke up on the couch in Shido's house, he saw Tohka barging in upstairs to her room.

"What's-a going on?"

Kotori walked in at that moment. "Tohka saw Shido with the spirit Hermit. She calls herself Yoshinon. I can't tell if that's the puppet's name or her name."

"Yoshi-non?" Mario curiously asked.

"Yes? What's wrong with it?"

Blue Toad and Yellow Toad, who had carried Mario home, gulped. "Uh... well..." Blue Toad was the one to answer. "Mario... has a best friend... named Yoshi.. and he's kinda... been taken into this world too..."

"Ah." Kotori confirmed. "Well, we at Fraxinus haven't noticed any more strange beings aside from you lot."

Shido walked downstairs. "I know how to stop this eternal rain... But Tohka's mad at me..."

"Oh?" Everyone looked toward Shido.

"Ah, good! Just find Yoshinon. Then her puppet."

Shido nodded and Mario nodded too. "Okie-dokie!" Mario exclaimed. "This is a simple hunt so I'll-a stay back!" The Toads and the Rabbids agreed.

"Dating a girl who looks like she's 10 years old..." Blue Toad thought.

"No."

"Just."

"No."

"Stop it."

Chains of words came out of Yellow Toad's mouth. Mario shrugged.


	8. Ground Zero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to save the city from being a frozen wasteland!

The blue-hair girl. The source of his current problems. Shido looked at her hand. Unlike last time, one notable thing was missing: She definitely had a puppet before, and now she didn't. "Suppose I'll need to talk to her and team up to find that rabbit..." Shido cleared his throat and approached the girl. "Hey." The girl turned and gasped. In no time at all, she started booking it. "Wait up! Oh hey, where's your puppet?" The girl gasped once more, probably easily afraid, and ran back to Shido and clung to him like a lost puppy. "Ah. I see.. You're looking for it?"

She nodded.

"Well, in that case, let me help you, alright?" Shido smiled. The girl gasped yet again... and slowly nodded.

* * *

"Oh, but first..." Shido pulled out his umbrella. "Take this. You could get really sick in the rain like this. Mario knows from experience."

The girl looked at the umbrella, and then her height, and then Shido's height. The girl was a LOT shorter than Shido, so he would have to duck all the time to fit under the umbrella. Shido, however, confirmed this.

"Ah, don't worry about me. Trust me, I want you to take it."

The girl was happy, although hard to say. She finally spoke. "U-um.. thanks... you're so kind.."

"Let's go find your puppet, Yoshinon!" Shido exclaimed.

"U-um.. well, the thing is... my-my name's not Yoshinon... It's Yoshino... and... Yoshinon's the puppet we're looking for..."

"Ah, understood, Yoshino, let's go find your puppet!... is what I said earlier." You can tell he's got 'lie' written all over Shido's face.

* * *

"So... Luigi? The princess? Yoshi?" Mario looked at the Toads, worry on his face. However, the Toads simply shook their heads, which made Mario worry even more.

"Luigi... wouldn't listen..." Blue Toad began. "He cares deeply for his big brother, so.. it's natural that he'd take off to find you... and now he's gone in this twisted world full of supernatural powers..." Blue Toad clenched his hand as Yellow Toad continued. "The princess and Yoshi were with you too?" Mario nodded. "Ah... I haven't seen them at all."

"Well, as long as they're-a safe-" Mario was cut off by Blue Toad.

"What if they didn't make it."

Mario GASPED. Blue Toad ignored and continued. "What if they were killed by supernatural powers? Like those Spirits?" Yellow Toad added on. "Yeah, they do major damage and are broken in a certain game!" Blue Toad looked at Yellow Toad, as if to shut him up. He finally concluded. "Mario, what if we're not the only ones here? What if there's more people you didn't meet in the Mushroom Kingdom that ended up here?"

Mario thought. "I can't-a think of anyone else that'd get sucked in by a portal that-a small..." Mario then looked at the Rabbids. "Rabbid Yoshi and-a Rabbid Mario? Could they have-a been pulled in too? Spawny too..." The Rabbids were now paying attention when they heard the names of their fellow friends. "Bowser Jr recently transported a giant washing-a machine with Rabbid Kong inside it... RABBID KONG could-a be here too?!" Mario exclaimed, now shocked. Rabbid Luigi and Rabbid Peach showed shock too. This was either pure paranoia, or pure genius. However, Rabbid Peach seemed to be more concerned... for two other friends she had.

Just then, the door opened. Everyone turned, it was Shido with Yoshino. Mario was the first to talk.

"Uh, who's-a she?"

"The Spirit we went over in Fraxinus, remember? Her name's Yoshino." Mario grumbled when Shido said the words 'yoshi'. Shido went on. "She was hungry, sooo..." Mario nodded.

Blue Toad and Yellow Toad immediately noticed something. "Don't we have a space problem?" Shido's attention was suddenly gained and looked around the room.

Mario, Rabbid Luigi, Rabbid Peach, Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, Shido, and Yoshino. 7 "people" (do we even count the Rabbids?) in the same room. "Now that you mention it..." Shido looked around.

"Ah well." He went on. "I'm going to the kitchen to make her some food." Mario then pointed out.

"The kitchen's literally in-a the same place as the living room..." Shido was snapped back to reality again. That's right. Literally next to the kitchen equipment were couches, a table and a TV.

"Sooo, Yoshino." Shido tried to ignore all the complaints from the Mario cast. "That puppet must be really special to you. Most people would give up and get a new one."

Yoshino also ignored all distractions. "Y-yeah... Yoshinon... was there to protect me.. and she's my hero..."

"Your hero?"

"She's big... and strong.. and brave... she's not a big scaredy cat like me... She's always there for me... Always.. there.. to protect me, and to get me through tough times." Mario was taken back by this. Yoshino was basically Princess Peach and Yoshinon was Mario. Yoshino, 5 seconds later, found herself being patted on the head. "...! Why are you petting me...?"

"Come on, I'm here now. I'm here to protect you." Shido smiled and gazed at her with a confident look. _"That's right. It doesn't matter if she's a Spirit. She's still a human on the inside, a human in need of rescuing."_

"U-uh..." Yoshino spoke. "Thank you... that's very kind.."

"No problem. Oh, uuuh.." Shido blushed. "Sorry for... kissing you earlier."

Mario and company gasped. "YOU WHAT?!"

Yoshino ignored them. "Th-that's fine.. but what's a kiss...?"

Shido was ready. "Well, you see, a kiss is where you get real close and touch lips.." Shido approached Yoshino, getting closer. "Like this..." Mario and others gawked at the scene unfolding.

Mario thought for a minute. _"Where's-a Tohka been?"_

And as if to answer, she arrived. At the worst time. She witnessed Shido about to kiss Yoshino.

"Tohka!" Shido gasped. "This, uh, isn't what it lo-" Shido didn't even finish that sentence before Tohka stormed up her room. Yoshino dipped out by using teleportation. Everyone was still.

_"Oooh, that's-a why she was so angry." Mario thought._

"Shido." Kotori came in through the communicator. "We found Yoshinon."

"You did? Where?"

"That's the bad news."

* * *

"..." Shido was standing in front of some apartment building. Origami's place. He awkwardly rang the doorbell.

"Who is it?" Origami asked from the receiver.

"Itsuka Shi-" He didn't even finish his name when the doors swung open. Shido sighed. Here goes nothing. He talked to himself as he went up the elevator. "Who would've thought it'd be at Tobiichi's place..."

Kotori replied. "Our investigations only came to that conclusion. We have damning evidence that Origami is the one that kidnapped Yoshinon."

"Doesn't help me that I'm gonna kidnap Yoshinon myself..." Shido sighed.

"Who CARES?" Kotori shouted. "But don't worry, we-l h- br-"

"Kotori? You're breaking up!" Static could only be heard on the earpiece, and then silence. He looked at the apartment room number. Origami's room. "Here goes..." He pressed the 'call button' and the door immediately opened. Shido could only question what sort of ridiculous maid getup did Origami so happen to wear, but this is the timeline he lives in. "U-uh.. Hello, Tobiichi..."

"Hello." She replied as if nothing was wrong. Many things were wrong!

Cue inside their room. "Uuuh, thanks for bringing me in, Tobiichi..."

"No problem" Origami was making tea. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Shido was about to drink it.. but then looked at the drink in question. It was boiling purple. "Tobiichi? This is-?!"

"Drink it."

"But-!"

"Drink it." Origami repeated like a record player.

"...Fine, yes, I would love to..." Shido gulped down the mixture.. only to gasp at his throat as he choked and forced himself down, Origami getting herself on top. This is definitely a fanservice moment. She moved closer.

"Do you like that?"

Shido blushed. "If I had to give an answer, I'd say no..."

"I'll get off you if you grant me one request. No if's, and's, or but's. Do we have a deal or not?"

"...Depends on what it is." Shido is surprisingly calm during this. Then again, he did date a world-ending woman a while back.

"I'm completely over you calling me over by my last name. I hear you calling others by their first name, but I'm still just 'Tobiichi' to you."

"What." Shido blanked out.

"My name is ORIGAMI Tobiichi. That is what I prefer to be called. Do we have a deal or not."

Shido thought for a moment. _"That's it?"_ He decided to go along with it, anything to prevent his innocent mind from experiencing fanservice. "U-uh, sure.."

Awkward silence. Origami glared and leaned closer. Shido blushed more. "Heey, Origami-?" Origami was satisfied by being called her first name. She did a majestic twirl, away from Shido. She entered a room. "Where are you going?" Shido asked. Origami replied.

"The shower."

"...seems like a weird time to do so.." The door was closed behind Origami. "Oh, right! The PUPPET!" And thus, Shido began a frantic search for Yoshinon, and the time limit is Origami's shower. He checked, and checked, and checked. He found very questionable stuff, which certainly did not help. "Ah-" He noticed the puppet on the shelf. Bingo! Now to hide it...

* * *

Origami stepped out the shower. She did not mind only being in a towel in front of Shido.

"That was a qui- Gah!" Shido did NOT want it, however.

"What is it?" Origami got on her knees and crawled to Shido. Shido backed up.

"Hey now-"

Origami got closer, backing him in a corner. "Something the matter?"

"U-uh..." Awkward silence.

Origami spoke after a few minutes. "I suppose I should ask you something."

 _"Ah, good, I was just about to leave.."_ Shido thought sarcastically. Is it even possible to do that?

"Are you human?"

"E-eh?" Shido started to sweat. Such sincerity. Such wow.

"I always thought it was a little strange. The day I shot you. I definitely shot you. No mistakes there."

"Origami..."

"Yes?"

"I believe I'm a human. That is what I want and hope for."

Origami turned and pinned Shido to the wall. "Truth?"

"I think it is."

The phone rang, Origami turned and noticed the AST Commander's name on it. "We're being deployed. See you." She took off without any word from Shido.

"A-ah..." Luckily, Shido managed to hide Yoshinon from Origami. Goodness knows where. Maybe he can "pocket" anything like a certain villager.

"Looks like it's time to save Yoshinon and deploy Mario to stop the AST deploy!" Shido exclaimed to nobody but himself. "Mario, you copy?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know-a the drill." Mario replied with a tired voice on the communicator. Shido asked Mario what's wrong, and all he could hear were the screaming of Rabbids. He kinda understood the jist from there.

* * *

Mario ran toward the freezing cold city. He looked up, to see the AST giving chase to Yoshino. Accompanied to Mario, were Blue Toad and Yellow Toad, who borrowed the Rabbids' guns.

"We'll each need to take down about 10!" Blue Toad exclaimed, while Mario just shot him a 'Really?' look.

"It's not a reference, there's literally 30 AST members here!"

"A little overexcessive," Yellow Toad thought, "don't you think?"

"They already-a shot down Yoshino! Were we-a too late?!" Mario looked at the laying down Yoshino, surrounded by AST. Mario ran up to check on Yoshino when he heard a voice that made him reconsider.

**"ZADKIEL!"**

The ground burst open with fog, AST and Mario alike were startled. There was the giant shark creature that Mario saw earlier. It sprinted around, charging and firing ice bullets and ice lasers at the AST. Mario, at first, was happy that his job was easier, but on the other hand, who's side was he on anymore?! If he didn't stop Zadkiel, the city would be doomed. If he didn't stop the AST, Yoshino would be doomed. He then noticed Shido on a rooftop. He had an idea and cracked his gun. "Blue! Yellow!" The Toads turned to Mario's command. "Lure-a the shark towards Shido's roof! That-a way, he can communicate with-a Yoshino!" The Toads nodded, and they all aimed their guns at Zadkiel.

"It's-a battle time!"

With his battle cry, Mario shot at Zadkiel. As expected, it turned to the blast, glaring at Mario. "Perfect!" Mario ran, with Zadkiel chasing down a straight line. "Darn it, only goes a singular line..." Mario notices Shido, 3 blocks ahead, and confused at what was going on. Mario jumped and waved at Shido, but Shido was more focused on the bigger threat. Mario ran into the ruined building and up the stairs to meet him.

"Mario! The battle's over.. here..." The Toads looked back. "Direct this shark to the blue anime boy? Sounds easier said than done..." Blue Toad muttered.

Up on the roof, Mario fired his blast at Zadkiel, with Shido's permission. After Mario's shot, Shido called out. "YOSHINO!"

Yoshino finally realised. "He... came back...?!" She screeched Zadkiel to a halt.

"Yoshino! I have something for you!" He reached in his pocket for Yoshinon, but was stopped. Mario and Shido turned around. The leader of the AST.

"You two! What are you doing there?! It's dangerous!" She then noticed Mario. "That boy-!" Mario and Shido noticed the commander, and unfortunately, so did Zadkiel. It charged up a giant ice laser!

"Nooo!" Yoshino tried to stop it, but it was no use. The AST commander flew away, and Mario gave chase. The giant shark fired it's laser, which MIRACIOUSLY didn't hit Shido, but Mario wasn't so lucky. He got flung all way across the city and fell to his doom, with no Toads to save him. But someone ELSE saved him. "Huh?" He looked at the beings who broke his fall. Rabbid Luigi & Rabbid Peach! Mario smiled.

Shido looked at what blocked him from the laser. "Isn't this...Sandalphon?!" A giant sword was protecting him. "Shido!" Tohka landed behind him, wearing some of her features when she was a Spirit.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, you?"

"I wanted to say sorry for a lot of things... I know this isn't much, but I hope you can at least find the heart to forgive me..."

"I will, but I need to save this girl!"

"So... that's it?"

"Please!"

 _"Ah.. right...! How could I forget? The man that saved me... I need to do something for him... Just this once..."_ She walked over and kicked Sandalphon over, turning it into a hoverboard. "Get on. We don't have much time."

Meanwhile, the AST were stumped. Zadkiel had summoned a giant blizzard barrier around itself. Origami looked at the Building and summoned a giant green forcefield to lift it up like normal. "Origami?!"

"Attack at the exact moment the barrier falls." Origami soon released the barrier, letting the building fall, but the building was casually sliced in half by a purple beam. Out came Tohka, with Sandalphon in hand.

"Yatogami Tohka. Why couldn't you just stay home?"

The AST commander shouted. "Troops! Change targets to Princess!" At once, they leapt at Princess, with Tohka smiling, as if it was part of the big plan.

Mario & Shido landed on the ground level of the city. Mario aimed his gun, ready to distract Zadkiel. "Here we go..."

Shido looked at the giant blizzard barrier. He stepped forward before being shouted at (but concerned this time) by Kotori.

"Wait, hold on! It's too dangerous! Before, you survived a single bullet..."

"This should be no problem, right?" Shido asked.

"This will be like trying to dodge MACHINE GUN FIRE!" Oh.

"So, how DID-a Shido survive that bullet!" Mario yelled. Which Kotori yelled back.

"Don't test your luck on Spirit Power, Shido!" Shido then thought of something.

"So... the reason I lived was..." Kotori couldn't believe what Shido was saying and gritted her teeth. She then noticed Shido was headed DIRECTLY for the blizzard.

"Wait! Stop!" Both Mario and Kotori cried out, but he wouldn't listen. "SHIDO!"

* * *

"Yoshinon.." Yoshino cried out in her personal blizzard place. "Yoshinon..."

 _ **"Have no fear, Yoshinon's here!"**_ A voice called out. Yoshinon emerged from the darkness. Yoshino gasped as it stepped forward, revealing Shido, brutally injured. He collapsed on the floor, bleeding out. Yoshino got off Zadkiel and ran to Shido, stepping back when blue flames covered his body and healed the wounds.

"Sh-Shido...?"

"It's me... in the flesh!" Shido smiled. "Here's your puppet..." He waved Yoshinon around. "Told you I'd find it."

She looked at Yoshinon, tears welled up. She then burst, crying out loudly.

"Wh-what's wrong?" Shido asked, getting up as if to ignore the brutal wounds.

"T-thank you... So much...! Yoshinon is my hero.. and you returned... *sniff*... thank you...!"

Shido silently gave Yoshinon back to Yoshino.

"No problem. Now it's your turn to be saved. But uuuh, first, do you remember what a kiss is?"

Yoshino looked down.

"Oh, hah hah, I was j-just kidding around. You don't have to k-" Yoshino leaned forward and did it, interrupting Shido. She leaned back.

"W-was that enough?"

"Yeah, it was awesome."

"G-great... If it's awesome for you, then it's awesome for me too." Yoshino's clothes slowly disintegrated, as a Seal was successful. The dark rainy atmosphere melted away into a bright sunny rainbow paradise. "Beautiful."

After Shido dealt with bullets and Mario... one thing came to his mind.

A little rain doesn't faze him at all.


	9. That One Hot Springs Episode

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yep. Fanservice episode. Or will it be? I dunno.

Mario looked at the city, it was in complete ruins. Explosion rallies up the DOUBLE.

"We've lost contact!"

"Our signal is being jammed!"

"I need a medic!"

"Requesting back-"

Static. All AST members have fallen.

The AST were powerless, Mario was powerless... All Mario could think of was...

"Fraxinus, what the-a HELL is this?!"

* * *

A few hours earlier...

"Well, Shido?" Kotori asked. "Do you like it?" Nobody could've seen this coming. It looked normal to any normal human, but somehow, GOD knows how, in the span of a few HOURS since saving Yoshino, there was a mansion beside the Itsuka residence.

"How did you build this so quickly?" Shido asked.

"It's-a-uh..." Mario looked up. "Very big." No duh. "Is this so-"

"So you give Shido a darn head peace." Kotori mumbled. "There's room for all of you and many more Spirits."

 _"Nani?"_ Mario could only think. "Uuuh, we appreciate it, Kotori. But doesn't this-a stand out a bit much?"

"What? Who's gonna know? We built this without anyone looking."

"That-a must've taken a RIDICULOUS amount of-a luck..." Mario muttered. "Are you an-a Ultimate Lucky Student? Your ahoge says so..." He pointed at a strand of hair on Kotori's hair sticking up.

"...What." Kotori's short temper got the better of her.

Tohka added on. "Yeah! Welcome our new resident, too!" She waved at an incoming person; a young girl with blue hair, cute clothes, and a hat, and a bunny puppet on her hand. Yoshino, the Spirit that Shido just successfully sealed.

"Hey, don't forget-a my crew!" Mario shouted. In came Blue Toad and Yellow Toad, the two Mushroom Residents that Mario reunited with recently. "Anyway, Shido, you said you had-a plans for today, is that-a not so?"

Shido realised. "Ah, yeah, in order to celebrate Yoshino's sealing, we decided to all go to the hot springs today."

Tohka added. "Because we all forced him to! With the power of-"

"No." Shido halted Tohka.

Kotori makes a valid point. "Well, we do want to support the Spirits and their ideals, don't want them upset and causing disaster over this, so I guess I'll allow it." She folded her arms. "Where are you lot going, anyway?"

"The Tenguu Gokuhaku Hot Springs."

Kannazuki, the Vice Commander of Fraxinus, chipped in Kotori's earpiece. "Oh, hot springs! Why don't you go along with them and leave me in charge, Commander?"

"If only it were that simple." Kotori huffed.

"What are you saying?! We'll be doomed if the Commander is not available and no-one else is in charge! So take a break and make SURE that you go with them!" Kannazuki pleaded.

"...what's your real goal?" Kotori asked, angrily looking at no-one as she was still on ground level with Shido.

"Surely you will not think that I, Kannazuki, plan to barrage a bunch of hidden cameras in the hot springs so I can examine and carefully inspect every inch of your still young, still growing under-developed body? Nah! Ridiculous!" Kannazuki might as well have wrote a death wish. It did NOT take long for him to be pinned by 2 muscular 'bodyguards'.

"HAVE MERCY, COMMANDER! Anything but the work caaaamp!"

"Listen up. You'll be digging a hole for a whole day in the place you are designated to. When you're done with that, fill the hole and repeat the task. Do that for a WEEK." She ended the communication with Kannazuki and looked at Shido while muttering to herself. "Hot springs with big brother?" She couldn't help but silently blush, with everyone awkwardly looking at her.

* * *

Meanwhile, in "Tenguu Garrison"...

"We got word from the GHQ. It has come to my attention that DEM Inc. will provide us with additional personnel." A man said, fiddling with some clips. "They're VERY talented at what they do, unlike you." The man spoke directly to the AST commander, Ryouko Kusakabe. "I know you won't get shown up by a bunch of civillians. Buuuut... you might pick up a thing or two, right?"

Ryouko saluted. "Understood, sir!"

* * *

She screamed as she flipped a ton of papers. She wheezed as she looked at advertisements of the hot springs.

"U-um, commander?" A member of the AST walked in at the wrong time.

"WHAT?!"

"I-it's about the trip scheduled this weekend?"

"You mean the 13 Secret Springs Tour?! With the all-you-can-eat feast we've all been looking forward to so much, right?!"

"Yeeeah, about that..."

"Yes? Yes?!"

"Because of the reemergance of Spirits, our alert level has been raised by one..." She might as well set off a bomb.

"What. Did. You. Say?!" Ryouko snapped.

"AND THE TRIP WAS CANCELED!"

Ryouko managed to throw the paper at the window so hard, that it actually broke! "CURSE YOU, SPIRITS!"

"T-there's more!"

"What?!"

"Although the place is nowhere near the quality of 13 Secret Springs, we decided to thank you for all your hard work you put in, we're going to the hot springs located at the edge of town: The Tenguu Gokuhaku Hot Springs! What a refreshing event! Please be so kind to come with us!"

Hearts came into Ryouko's eyes, and she sparkled up. She jumped over the table and gave the soldier a big hug. "Great! GREAT job! I'll give you a special double promotion!"

"T-that's a death flag, I think."

All Ryouko could think of is her wonderful time she'll be having in the hot springs. Little did she know is that Shido & co. are already heading there with Mario.

* * *

The soda has been dispensed from the vending machine. Origami picked it up, still in AST uniform from the battle against Yoshino.

"Girls! The captain approved it!" The soldier from before dashed in.

All the AST raised hands. "Hot springs for everyone! Wooo!" They all cheered in the background, except for ONE. Origami.

"I'm against it." They all turned to Origami. "If you have time for foolishness, then you have time to train too."

"B-but..."

Just then, Origami's phone rang. She collected her phone and saw the picture and name. Shido Itsuka. Without hesitation, she answered. "Hello?"

"Ah, it's me. Remember that book I borrowed? Is it okay if I don't return it today?"

"I don't mind. But... why?"

"My schedule got a bit-" Just then a BARRAGE of interruptions came from Shido's end.

"Shido!" Tohka shouted. "Let's go to the hot springs right now!" Origami noticed the voice. The PRINCESS. She gripped her soda can. More voices came.

"That would be-a fine, Tohka, if you let go of-a him!" Mario...

"BWAH! Bwah haaaa!" The Rabbids...

"Clinging to Shido is wonderful for Spirits! Because he's the main character!" Blue Toad...

"What about-a me, EEEEH?"

"You're good too, Mario!" Yellow Toad...

"U-um... yeah... he's... nice..." Yoshino...

Shido finally decided to end it. "U-uh, yeah, see ya, Origami!" Beep, beep, beep... The grip from Origami was too much for the poor soda can, and it gave way, bursting. Everyone cowered in fear before her.

* * *

In the car ride to the hot springs, Yoshino was amazed at all the scenery.

And so was Tohka. "Woah, this is awesome!"

Shido laughed. "This is your first time in a car, you two. I think." He patted Yoshino's head. "There, there. Just don't get carsick, okay?"

Tohka noticed the head-pat treatment from Yoshino. "Shido! Shido! Me too..." Tohka was all the way at the front of the car, and Shido was all the way at the back, therefore...

"I can't reach that far!" The accursed seatbelt with it's darn safety functions stopped Shido from reaching Tohka to head pat her.

"Why can Yoshino have that but not meeee?"

"You WANTED to sit at the front!"

Tohka grumbled while Yoshinon spoke. "Shido! Shido! Pet me too!"

"Ah. Looks like I have no choice." Shido petted Yoshinon. "Who's a good rabbit?"

Tohka grumbled, but quickly called out something.

"Where's Mario? I thought he was coming too!"

"He is, look in the mirror."

Tohka looked at the car mirror, and saw Mario in a freakin' MERCEDES from a certain game. In the Mercedes, there was Mario, the Rabbids and the Toads.

"U-um.. Shido... what's that swirly thing?" Yoshino pointed.

"That's a barber pole!"

"And that?"

"Oh, that?"

Tohka couldn't take it anymore. She started screaming and shouting, stomping her foot on the car floor. It actually gave way and she broke through it, stomping on the road. The road caved in and collapsed, the car falling, and Mario's Mercedes came to a stop.

"I think that was Tohka." Blue Toad stated the obvious.

* * *

The AST train zipped by underground.

"Are you sure we should be in our uniform for this trip?"

"Don't misunderstand." Ryouko shouted. She was carrying casual stuff with casual clothing. "We are merely confirming the normal operation of the vehicle and doing a routine inspection of a route we hardly ever use! We're NOT just messing around! Be serious! Don't slack off!"

Trains of thoughts came in the soldiers. _"We're fooling around? She's not taking this seriously. She's slacking off..."_

"It's just as the captain says." Origami blurted in, wearing camo uniform with recording equipment, like headphones, video cameras, etc... "We'll never reach the hot springs until we're absolutely prepared. You should be aware of that."

 _"Hot springs?"_ All 4 soldiers shared the same thought. Just then, there was a rumble that shook the entire train. The train's lights grew red, AST members collapsed everywhere. Ryouko was the first to get up.

"What's going on?"

"O-on it!" The soldier reached for the phone. "Hey, what's going on?!... Ah... okay..." She turned to the commander. "The train stopped due to the tunnel collapsing. No sign of a speedy recovery."

"Dammit..." Ryouko cursed. "We have no choice! Troops, Stand!" They did as told. "We will proceed on foot to our destination! Dismissed!"

"Roger!" The sounds of marching echo throughout the tunnel...

* * *

Mario looked at the crater, still no sign of Shido and co. "Did they go-a out another way?" Mario looked around, still no word of them. "Must have.." He folded his arms and looked at the sky. "Well, I suppose there's-a only one thing to it... Walk-a there." Groans came from everyone else. "Come-a on guys, a little WALK doesn't faze-a us! We've been-a all around the Mushroom Kingdom, eh?" Just then, he checked in with Fraxinus. Alarms everywhere.

"Huh?"

"AST approaching! Use all forms of the ship to stop them!"

"Oh no."

Mario looked at the blockade of trucks.

"What?"

A collapsed bridge.

"What?!"

Construction works...

"What...?!"

A stampede of bulls!

"WHAT?!"

Mario looked at a twirling Origami in the sky, landing on an electricity pole.

"Okay, this is-a getting crazy! We just-a need to find Shido and company! Then we can-a get back on track!"

* * *

Shido walked past a baked bun shop, but stopped when the curtains flapped and revealed KOTORI. "Huh? Wait a second." He opened the curtain, revealing her. "Kotori?!" Kotori turned red. "What're you doing here?"

Tohka raised up as well. "Oh! If it isn't Kotori!"

"Did something happen?" Yoshino silently said.

"I-I'm observing! Yeah, that!" She stuttered. "I have to make sure you don't mess up, Shido!"

"You could do that from the ship. By any chance, is the real reason you're here is because you wanna come too?"

"O-Of course I don't!"

"C'mon, drop the act! Come on, we can all go together!" He offered his hand.

Kotori was entranced, "W-well, if you say so..." She was harshly interrupted by an alarm in her earpiece. Everyone blinked as Kotori turned around. "W-what the hell do you want?!" She turned to Shido again. "Sorry, Shido, go on ahead"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Just get going already!"

They quickly left.

"What do they want NOW..." Kotori huffed.

* * *

Explosions were heard. Mario perked up. "Mama-mia! It-a begins!" Smoke trailed up from the explosion, and he saw a few members of AST. "Looks like they're-a approaching..."

"Mario, LOOK!" Yellow Toad pointed up to see a missile.

"Is that heading for-a the town?"

"It is."

**KABOOM!**

"D'oh! What-a happened?" Mario ran to investigate the scene. Green goop everywhere, trapping the AST. "What is-a this?!" He saw AST members also in ropes.

He looked around for more danger. He saw takoyaki being raised. "Oh no." They fired like bullets, wait, no, they were like GRENADES. Explosions up the rally. "WAAAH! MAMA-MIA! That's a lotta damage!"

He turned, seeing a panda plush fire out wires to an AST members. Both were confused, until the AST member recieved an electric shock. "Jeezus!" Mario called out.

Yakitori next, firing like missiles. They fired like grenades again, destroying the city. "At this-a point..." Mario said.

Blue Toad finished. "The city will be DESTROYED!"

"Got any ideas?" Yellow Toad questioned, however, Mario had to confiscate Rabbid Luigi's rocket before things got too out of hand. He stepped out of the way of some shiny slippery liquid.

"They're-a going all out! They don't-a know who they're aiming at!" Mario dodged a pile of sleeping AST members and sleeping gas. "Ooooh, boooy... Fraxinus sure is determined to get-a us to the hot springs!" Turnips homed in on EVERYONE, including Mario. "WAAAH!" He got knocked around like a dummy.

Ryouko had no problem with destroying everything in sight.

Meanwhile, with Shido CASUALLY walking to the hot springs, a leftover missile came directly to them. In the end, Yoshinon got launched away. "Y-Yoshinon..." It did NOT take long for Yoshino to cry and start freezing the city, manholes being blown away by water.

"Calm down Yoshino-!"

Reine pointed out. "No, Shin, find Yoshinon first, then calm her down."

Shido patted Yoshino's head. "Yeah, I'll find it. Stay back, all of you, I'll be right back!" That calmed her down to stop raining. He looked forward, and stepped INTO the chaos.

"Be careful, Shido!" Tohka shouted.

"At least it's-a not THAT bad now..." Mario chipped into Fraxinus.

"Use DESTROY mode! They have Territory!" was all he could hear from Kotori.

"Oh GOD."

Eggs fired at the AST.

Spaghetti fired at them.

DISCLAIMER: Don't worry, all the food was ate after. Mario helped with that.

"I'm drenched.. Covered in sweat..." Ryouko was panting. This was not how she planned to spend her day. "Where's the HOT SPRINGS? Where's that? Huh...? That's right... my superior bashes me every day... my unit's members younger than me... I wanted to enjoy ONE thing..." She finally SNAPPED. "LET ME GO TO THE HOT SPRINGS!" She pulled out a GIANT gattling gun, and fired without mercy at any and all houses, crumbling in an instant. "So you think you can just take advantage of us, HUH?! Well, it's too early for THAT, let me tell you!" She was out of ammo at this point. "Dammit! DAMMIT!" She pulled out a grenade next. "JUST CRUMBLE TO DUST!" She opened fire, with an explosion bigger than the city.

Mario was just in awe. He was REALLY close to Ryouko.

"HAAHAHAHAHAHA!" She finally lost it. "Let's GIVE THEM HELL, girls! It's FUN time! Time to take out the trash! Eradicate, obliterate, decimate, exterminate, annihilate, and DESTROY THEM COMPLETELY!" The AST completely obeyed this and started firing. Ryouko turned to the person right beside her. MARIO.

"Haa, it's you! The chubby man and the rabbit from before!" She pointed at Mario and Rabbid Luigi. "What's this?" She pointed at Rabbid Peach, Blue Toad & Yellow Toad. "More objects for me to destroy?! It'll be fun! So much FUN!"

"What's happening?!" Shido, in the distance, was witnessing buildings crumble. He ran while Mario and Ryouko argue.

"You're not-a gonna win this time, commander!" Mario stated, readying his fists.

"Maybe this time, I'll get some of your BONES! Don't think we'll stay young forever!" She pulled out ANOTHER gattling gun and pointed right at Mario's face. "This will be a fun stress relief! Hell, this will relieve more stress than the hot springs!"

Mario, however, did not budge. "Crazy, huh?"

"Just because we're girls, we're not gonna sit and do nothing!" Ryouko's line right there hit Mario right in the heart. He was taken memory to Princess Peach.

"Mario and that girl are arguing... Gotta find Yoshinon!" Shido hurried.

"WELL YOU SHOULD JUST DIE!" Ryouko shouted, revving it up. Mario had an idea. He put his Bwahnzai Bill into the gun. Mario and Ryouko froze. They looked down, being covered in ice.

"Hermit!"

"Yoshino!" They were lucky to avoid any explosions, but instead, they hit the AST members.

Shido finally found Yoshinon. "THERE you are!" He looked up, and saw a giant melon. There was no escape. This would be the end. Origami was close to Shido, and gasped.

"Sh-Shido!"

The melon explodes, causing a nuclear reaction, which Shido would NOT survive, even if he had ran away.

But guess what? HE SURVIVED.

Shido could only gape. There, in front of him, was Tohka, in Spirit armor. She was projecting a forcefield that stopped Shido from dying again. "Are you okay, Shido?" She smiled.

"Tohka..."

The troops of the AST, who were outside the forcefield, saw this too. "Princess?! Captain, it's princess-!" No signal. "No orders..."

Origami stepped forward with her gun. "I'll do it."

"B-but..."

"That doesn't matter. This is a great chance." She then realised as the forcefield teleported the duo away.

* * *

Mario woke up. "Uuuh, I think I blocked that gattling-a gun... Where am I?" He looked at the sunset, and then the ground, he was reunited with Shido & co.!

"You guys-!"

The Rabbids and Toads were there too. They were at the hot springs at long last.

"Aaah! I'm so refreshed!" Ryouko made it too, with everyone quivering in fear.

"Yeah, looks like we made it. The mushroom heads were kind enough to carry you." Shido said, pointing at Blue Toad and Yellow Toad.

Yoshinon chattered. "Yeah, it was all because of me that yo-" The head of Yoshinon came off and into the water. Yoshino was devesated.

"All troops, charge to the water!" Ryouko shouted, with them doing so while squealing.

"Where's Shido.." Origami looked around. The sounds of ice hit her ears, and she turned, to see AST members trapped in ice due to Yoshino's heartbreak.

"So much for the hot springs..." Kotori stated while in Fraxinus.

Kannazuki hogged the monitor. "Captain, may I?"

"Kannazuki?!"

"Yes, ma'am! I was digging that hole like you commanded, aaand... I dug up a hot spring!"

* * *

Now Shido & co were in Kannazuki Hot Springs.

"How is it?" Tohka asked. "Do you feel less stressed now? Do your muscles feel relaxed?"

Yoshino added. "Are you okay?" with Yoshinon adding. "Sorry I caused you so much trouble!"

Shido asked Kotori, in ground level. "Did you go this far for me?"

"Be grateful. You have more work again soon."

Mario and company were not in the hot spring, but were gazing into the sunset. Everyone was gazing at it, with the only sounds of a leftover missile, travelling a far distance to goodness knows where.

"Yeeeah, relaxing's the best." Shido sighed.

For once, everyone got along.

* * *

An airport landed, and out stepped a blue-haired girl in armor, also gazing at the sunset.

She didn't speak a single word.

* * *

"Saaay, didn't this timeline happen before?"

"Yeah, but Bowser resetted it because he touched the crystal, me."

"Well, you know how this timeline goes. Looks like I'm next."

"Got your school disguise ready, me?"

"Yeah, I do." The girl smiled, while using her black hair to cover a peculiar golden clock eye.

"I wonder if Mario can face against me?"

"He is a hero. Be careful."

"Heroes can't face against...

_**Nightmares."** _


	10. I Am A Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A goth girl transfers in and Mario gets that slight bad feeling.

"You're still going?" A blue-haired girl was facing Origami. Origami unsheathed her sword from her AST uniform. The girl in question had defeated an entire army of AST troops, all by herself. She wasn't even sweating, she was smiling. "Good. I admire your confidence. Let's go."

Origami struck the girl, but she flew in the air and cut down any and all attacks. "Is that all?"

Ignoring the girl's remark, Origami kept attacking with bullets, but the girl dodged them all. Origami tried a sword swipe from the back, but she was protected there.

"Whew, almost!" An alarm in the distance.

_"Victory. Takamiya Mana wins."_

Ryouko was impressed. "I'm not surprised that she took down an entire squadron all by herself. After all, _she DID kill a Spirit."_

* * *

She folded her arms and looked at the blue-hair recruit. "Go ahead and introduce yourself PROPERLY so we can get this over with."

"Right! I am Mana Takamiya. I am pleased to fight alongside you all!"

"Well done." Ryouko spouted while hitting Mana's head with a clipboard. She then walked to Origami and then did the same. "Why did you guys destroy valuable equipment in that mock battle?"

The two girls apologised. "We're very sorry."

"Be more careful next time." Ryouko spoke to Origami. She then turned to Mana. "We're going to review our last battle with Hermit, so take a seat."

"Yes, ma'am." Mana obeyed, sitting right next to Origami. "The captain's really hotheaded, huh?" She whispered in a low tone. The lights dimmed as the battle with Hermit replayed. "That's why the Spirits always win against us..."

"Agreed." Origami spoke.

"Hoh, similar minds?"

"I heard you killed a Spirit." Origami spoke in a monotone voice. "Please, do tell me about it."

"About me killing a Spirit?" Mana thought. "Well, that one is a lot different than other Spirits." Origami pondered at Mana's words while Ryouko silently watched. "It won't be long before you come across it yourself..." She might as well foreshadowed right there. "That's why I was assigned to this unit, after all." She focused on the screen, which zoomed in on a VERY familiar character to Mana; SHIDO.

"Nii-sama?!" Mana gasped. Origami turned.

* * *

Mario sighed and looked at the TV in Shido's house. "Yoshino and the-a Rabbids are completely hogging the TV in the-a Spirit Mansion..." He yawned. He didn't get much sleep due to the Yoshino battle he had recently. And the CHAOS that was the hot spring trip. All Mario could do was just sit back and watch the clock tick by while boring TV shows were going on. Accompanying Mario was Blue Toad & Yellow Toad.

Blue Toad stated the obvious. "Gee, it sure is BORING around here!"

Just then, the three TV-hoggers Mario mentioned came in. Yoshino, Rabbid Luigi & Rabbid Peach.

"Huh? What's-a-wrong, guys?" Mario asked.

"T-the bunnies broke the TV.." Yoshino whimpered.

"So, I assume you want-a this TV?" Mario asked again, which he got a simple nod from. He looked at the TV, and then back at the trio, and then... He looked at the TV remote back on the table. "Ah, to-a heck with it. Every man for-a themselves!" He didn't want to watch KIDS shows, that would put him through hell. It didn't take long for everyone to dive for that table and get that remote!

"It's-a-mine!"

"B-but.. I like TV..."

"Who cares, Yoshino? Me and Yellow have had enough of being bored!"

"Yeah, what Blue said! We need our own channels to watch!"

"Bwah haa!"

"Bwah..?"

"Any idea what they're saying?"

"No idea. Trust-a me, you'll get used to it. But give me that-a remote! It's-a mine and mine alone!"

"Maaaarioooo!" Everyone called out.

"Mario." Kotori chipped in from Mario's earpiece.

He sighed, and gave up. "Sorry."

* * *

In the school, Tamae giggled from excitement. "Hey guys, guess what? Today, a transfer student will be joining us!"

Shido, with his hand on his head in boredom, only thought of something. _"Didn't Tohka transfer a while ago?"_ That was true, sitting both sides of him were Tohka in question, and Origami. All Shido had learned from experience is that transfer students would surely spell disaster, but maybe, just this once, he was willing to let it slide as in no way would this transfer student be a Spirit.

"Okay, come on in!" The door opened, and there...

Was a girl. Supporting the black uniform that all students wore, she wore black hair to go along with it. Her black hair, in twin tails, reaching down to her skirt, got shocks from all of the class. She elegantly made her way to the blackboard and wrote her name, and then faced the class, her red rose eye striking down all weak-minded students. "My name's Kurumi Tokisaki!" She spoke, while giggling. She was way too innocent, and got woos from the class, especially Tonomachi. Then she spoke something that Mario would have definitely jinxed if he were there.

"I am a Spirit."

Those four words got confusion within the class, except for three. Everyone was expecting a joke, except Shido, who gasped... Tohka, who was slightly confused... and Origami, who did NOT laugh at this 'joke'.

Everyone was silent, dumbfounded, but Tamae broke the silence. "U-uhm.. that's certainly one of the more bold introductions... Why don't you have a seat?"

"Before I do, I'd like to ask something." Everyone was curious about Kurumi's quesiton. "I'm afraid I transferred at the last minute, so I don't know my way around school. Would any of you like to tour me around?"

Tonomachi was obviously the first to raise his hand. "Me! Pick me!"

"Thanks, but no thanks." She turned down Tonomachi, and then saw her target. She approached. "Would YOU help me?" She smiled, looking at none other than Shido. "I believe I heard your name was Shido."

"M-me?" He looked around, and then pointed at himself. "U-uh.. sure..." He stuttered, because when he looked at Kurumi..

That smile wasn't as innocent.

* * *

Ryouko looked at the readings of Kurumi. "Are we sure about this?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"If that statement was a joke, it's not funny."

Mana stepped in with her high-pitched voice. "That is no ordinary Spirit!" She continued. "If we exclude the spacequake victims, that Spirit has killed more than 10,000 people in it's own hands. A malicious Spirit."

"What is this...?!" Ryouko looked at the readings.

* * *

Recess quickly came around the corner. Nobody was looking forward to this.

Kotori added to the silence while Shido looked out the window. "Confirmed. I didn't believe she'd actually admit she's a Spirit, but our readings detect energy. Well, if she admitted it, it'll give us time to **win her over** before the AST **wins over her**."

It was time for Shido's tour.

"Ready?" Kurumi asked, right behind Shido. They took off for their tour, everyone on Fraxinus nervous.

Origami and Tohka, on ground level, watched Shido take off with Kurumi.

"I'm-a scared." Mario admitted.

Blue Toad scoffed. "You? Scared? I'm pretty sure her saying that she is a Spirit is a simple joke."

Kotori corrected Blue Toad. "I just told Shido that it is CONFIRMED that she is a Spirit."

Blue Toad saw no logic in that. "Why would you do that?! Why would you WILLINGLY admit you're a Spirit! That's like being in a shark-infested ocean and having gallons of shark food on you! You're inviting them over for a free lunch! More importantly-" Blue Toad rambled on, while on the monitor, Kurumi asked a question.

"What are you going to show me first?"

**1: Rooftop**

**2: Infirmary**

**3: Cafeteria**

"Make your choice, everyone. 5 seconds. Make it count."

Number 1 got the most votes.

"Rooftop? We're not gonna run on it." She saw ONE vote for option three. "Who voted three?"

"I did." Reine blurted in her tired voice.

"May I ask why?"

"Process of elimination; the school nurse is in the infirmary and the rooftop would only be suitable for sunsets."

Kotori saw that logic. "Romantic. Shido, you copy?"

Shido looked at Kurumi. "How about the cafeteria and the student store?"

"Okay."

Spying on the two was Tohka. "What is that girl doing?" She whispered quietly to herself.

Origami peeked as well. "I don't want another girl hitting on him."

At the cafeteria, Shido was explaining. "The most popular item is the Yakisoba bread, so people go for that."

"How interesting."

"But I personally prefer Durian bread! Just... brush your teeth afterwards..."

"How interesting." Kurumi repeated.

Shido noticed. "Are you even paying att-" He turned to Kurumi who was right in his face. "WAH!" He stepped back.

"Ara ara." Kurumi spoke.

"W-what?"

"I'm very sorry." She smirked. "I couldn't concentrate on the menu when your face is much more fascinating." She told Shido that with no regard, no blushing, no nothing. Just a smirk.

"Excuse me..?" Shido stuttered. Kotori helped Shido via earpiece.

"It won't do us any good if YOU fall for HER."

"M-my bad."

Reine commentated. "We haven't dealt with a Spirit like this before."

Yellow Toad thought. "Kurumi might want something from Shido. Why else would she ask HIM on a tour? And best of all, how did she know him beforehand?" Yellow Toad turned to Mario. "Right, Mario?"

"Not to-a make anyone paranoid..." Mario looked at the monitor. "But I feel like I-a KNOW this girl from somewhere!"

"Huh?!" Everyone turned.

"Her aura makes it-a feel like... No! It can't-a be! Her aura is something from OUR-a world!" Mario turned to the Toads, which they gasped.

Blue Toad was the first to commentate. "Does that mean Kurumi's been in the Mushroom Kingdom? With THAT body count?! No WAY!"

"If I meet-a her in person, I'd get more of a feel for-a her Aura..." Mario thought.

"Let's look at the options." Kotori spoke, looking at three options while Shido & Kurumi were walking.

**1: What did you mean by your Spirit-related introduction?**

**2: Where did you go to school before you came here?**

**3: What kinda panties you wearing right now?**

Mario was dumbfounded. "What's with-a option three?"

Kotori replied. "Sometimes, Option three is usually the big bold playboy words. Sometimes it surprisingly works."

Kannazuki agreed. "Option three, please."

"Panties over black pantyhose are mankind's greatest treasure." It didn't take long for Kannazuki to be dragged away by bodyguards. "Have mercy, Commander! Have mercy!"

Kotori looked at option 3 and repeated it to herself. "Kurumi, what kind of panties are you wearing right now?" She looked at the option longingly. "Why is the playboy option here right now? It's too soon... Hmm?" She looked at the monitor.

"Kurumi, what kind of panties are you wearing right now?" Shido repeated, because Kotori left her communicator ON. "EEH?!"

"What panties?" Kurumi smiled.

"DUMBASS!" Kotori shouted ironically. "We were going to ask what her Spirit introduction meant! Jeez, COVER IT UP!"

Shido was VERY confused at first, but alas, he tried to. Kurumi spoke before Shido spoke.

"Would you like to see them?"

"EEH?!" Mario and the Toads were horrified, even the Rabbids.

"I don't mind showing them to you, Shido."

"MAMA-MIA!" Mario shouted from Fraxinus. He tried to find a cross to begone of the witch, but to no avail! "What is-a this personality?" He screamed. Everyone on Fraxinus tried to calm Mario down, which was chaos. Kurumi walked to the stairs of the school, and reached for her skirt. Everyone gasped again. "Uuuh, is there-a going back on this?" Kurumi's eyes narrowed with unknown intent to Shido, which he gasped on what she was about to reveal. The skirt rose more and more, and just when the panties were about to be shown..

"F-forget it!" Shido cried out. He gasped for air as he turned around.

"Shy one, aren't you?" Kurumi teased.

He definitely tried to change the subject. "Wh-what did you mean by 'I am A Spirit' in your introduction earlier today?"

Kurumi giggled. "C'mon, don't play dumb. I know you're aware of Spirits, Shido."

Everyone on Fraxinus narrowed their eyes. Something was up.

"How do you know about me?" Shido asked.

"That's a secret." She kept that smug look. "There is something I CAN tell you, though." She slowly walked down the stairs, approaching Shido. "To tell you the truth, I've had feelings for you ever since I knew and found out about you... That's why, spending time on this tour? Spending time with you? That makes me EXCEPTIONALLY happy..." She grabbed Shido's hands as if to propose. "Now, Shido..." She clasped his hands tightly. "I have a favor to ask of you. Would you listen to my request?" Her smile was more creepy than innocent at this point. It's as if she was brimming with lust and insanity.

Shido was the fool as he blushed. "A-all right.." Her smile got wider and more twisted, but thankfully, help arrived! Tohka and Origami fell out of a nearby locker to spy on Shido & Kurumi. "Tohka! Origami!"

"Ara ara, what are you two doing?"

"Th-that's my line!" Tohka retorted.

Origami was more calm. "Students should not hold hands at school. Let go immediately." She pointed at Kurumi, but Kurumi kept clasping on.

"The fact of the matter is that my iron levels have bottomed out, so, as you'd expect, the kind man Shido offered me his hand."

Origami, already putting a plan into motion, fell to the ground. "My iron's low, too."

Tohka folded her arms. "Pathetic excuse, you two!" She thought of something and shook her hips. "I'm low on iron too!"

"You do?"

"Yeah, I feel as if my bottom isn't as steely as it should be."

"Tohka no." Mario called out but nobody heard.

"That's not what they're talking about!" Shido called out, and Tohka heard.

As if to make it worse, the three gossipers returned. Ai, Mai and Mii.

"Wow, look at that lover's spat!"

"Itsuka got his grubby hands on the transfer student too?! He's such a player!"

"That's so lame!"

* * *

Sunset... set on the city and the school.

"Thanks for showing me around." Kurumi stood in front of Shido. "I am grateful, Shido." She bowed. She got closer and whispered in his ear with a menacing aura around her. "Although it would've been better with us alone."

Shido could only laugh nervously.

"Well, I'll be off now!" She skipped happily off.

 _"Tohka and Origami might've saved me back there.."_ Shido thought. _"I don't want to imagine us alone."_

Shido looked at the clinging Tohka. "Where's Origami?"

Tohka turned. "I dunno, she disappeared at some point."

* * *

Kurumi was skipping along the sunset-filled streets while humming to herself, plan already in motion. She made some questionable noises when she realised and stopped those noises. "Ah, no, I should be more patient... I'm saving the fun for-Ah!" She bumped into a rather tall guy, him also shocked in pain.

"Ara ara, sorry about that." She apologised.

"Heey, you bumped into me, lady.." The man said, as two more came out of the dark alley. "An apology ain't gonna cut it."

"Hot damn, this girl's cute."

"What's your name? Let's hang out."

"Ara ara... ah... could it be at any much possible that you wish to have sexual intentions with me?" Kurumi asked the three men (who we will not name as you will see shortly).

"Damn, you're straight forward!"

"You catch on quickly. I like that. Are you into it?"

Kurumi smiled. "As much as anyone else." She grinned wider. "People can see us here. Let's go deeper into this alley." She lured them in like moths to light.

"Ooh, you're so eager!"

Little did they know that would be their last words. A few seconds later...

"Help!"

Screams surfaced. A passing truck squashed a soda can of pure red. The red in the alleyway was Kurumi's fault. Blood. She killed three men right then and there, no bodies to be found. Kurumi's red eye wasn't a rose color... it was blood color.

"That was 'sweet'. Hee hee." She licked her lips.

A certain member of the AST arrived. Blue hair. Mana. "Looks like I was too late."

"Ara ara, you're that..."

"You should really clean up after yourself, **Nightmare**."

* * *

"Shido, are we having burgers tonight?!" Tohka asked, as Shido and Tohka got off a bus relatively close to their house.

Kotori chirped in via earpiece. "I'd love that too!"

Mario chirped in too. "Lotsa spaghetti and-a meatballs is the way to go!"

Shido laughed. "Aaah, what to do..." They stopped in front of a certain blue-hair girl. Mana.

"It's just as Tobii-I mean, Nee-sama said..."

Shido looked at Tohka. "Do you know her?"

"No..."

Mana approached Shido, looking him in the eye. She was definitely shorter, that's for a fact. Her eyes widened and so did her smile. "Nii-"

"Nii?"

"Nii-sama!" She quickly hugged him.

Everyone stopped to gather their thoughts, but their first one was "WHAAAA?!"

Mario was translating 'nii-sama' and he got the words 'big brother'. "Well, I guess that would-a make sense... WHAAAAA?!" He joined in on the shock.

Cut to in front of their house. "Oh, so THIS is where you live!" Mana exclaimed.

She shook hands with Kotori, now in the house. "Nice to meet you! Are you a member of this family? Thanks for taking care of my nii-sama!"

Tohka and Yoshino were on a couch. "I didn't know Shido had another little sister." Tohka pondered.

Mario was also now on ground level. "Haha, well, you know-a how it goes! Always a plot twist!"

"Not a secret child, but a secret little sister?!" Yoshinon shouted. "Way to go!"

Shido was not amused. "Could've put that lighter. By the way, why're you here?" He spoke to Yoshino.

Yoshino struggled to find an excuse because she didn't want to tell Shido about the broken TV caused by the Rabbids, and her shyness. "I-i'm sorry."

"You don't need to APOLOGISE." Shido reassured her.

Yoshinon continued "You totally look alike!"

Mana spoke to the puppet. "Of course! I'm his little sister!"

"How odd." Kotori spoke. "I'm his little sister too."

"Huh? Meaning... You're my BIG sister?"

"N-no! Shido was adopted into the Itsuka household a long time ago. We're not ACTUALLY related."

"I see, so that's your relationship!"

"Um, Mana?" Shido asked. "Could I ask you a question?"

"What is it, nii-sama?"

"Hmph!" Kotori huffed as she sipped her drink.

"Sorry to say," Shido admitted. "But I do not remember you."

"That's no surprise. I don't really remember my past that much as well." Mario perked up on Mana's comment. He felt as if it was familiar somehow. Bowser's new attitude with Camael made him seem like a whole new person of insanity.

"What?!" Everyone except Mario gasped. "What did you just say? How long ago did you mean by 'the past'?"

"I remember things from the last couple of years... but that's about it."

"Then you don't remember... mother?" Shido asked slowly.

"Sadly, no."

Kotori replied. "So how do you know Shido's your big brother?" Mana responded by pulling out a locket. Inside it was a picture of Shido & Mana, very young.

"Is that... me?"

"Isn't that boy just so happening to look like Shido?" Kotori was desperate but Mario could only think of Luigi, and dang, did he try his best not to say anything mean to Kotori.

"No, it's him! I only have fuzzy memories of it, but I do remember he was sent away somewhere... I felt lonely, but more than that, I was WORRIED about him." Mana was not helping in the Mario department. More memories of Luigi filled Mario's head. "But now that I know you're alive... I'm... I'm..!" She ran to Shido, tears in her eyes.

"Mana..." Shido called her name.

"Nii-sama!" She hugged Shido, and as a result, Kotori gave a kick... to Shido.

"Get away from her."

"What are you doing?!" Mana shouted.

"Why did you kick ME?!" Shido groaned in pain.

Kotori shouted. "You're MY family! I won't let Mana take him back now!"

"I've got no intention of taking him."

"Huh?"

"As long as I can see him be happy, that's enough for me." Mario couldn't take it no more.

"Guys, stop. I can't-a take this family complex any more. You're filling my-a brain with too much Luigi!"

Mana ignored Mario. "But you're no match for the REAL sister!" She boasted at Kotori.

Kotori broke something. Probably sanity. "You think so?"

"Isn't it obvious? You can never get closer to someone than their blood relative."

"But they do say far better a nearby neighbour than a distant brother!"

Mana broke something. Probably sanity. This felt very familiar. "No, no. An adoptive sister is just a stranger. an imitation sister, where as a natural sister shares the same blood!"

"Why do you keep bringing that up?" Kotori demanded while Mana lifted a glass and drunk it.

"Imitation and natural.." Tohka murmured out of hearing range. "What are they talking about? Rice?" Her hungry personality got to her.

"Ding-dong!" Yoshinon yelled. "Putting the two in a fruit bowl can give access to the forbidden fruit!"

"I'd love to try that! Shido, put those two in a bowl for me!"

"Are you TRYING to make me a criminal?" Shido replied to Tohka while the two sisters were arguing.

"A smooth one, no less." Mario cheekily said.

Kotori continued arguing with Mana. "Why should our blood relationship even matter? Full siblings can't even marry each other!"

"What." Everyone stared at Kotori, and then she realised what she said. She slightly blushed and slammed her fist on the table to change the subject.

"A-anyway! I'M his little sister now!"

"You can't win against the blood sister!" Mana slammed a glass down.

"That has nothing to do with being his sister!"

Shido tried to be rational. "Guys, calm down-!"

"Shido, what do YOU say?"

"Your natural sister or imitation sister?"

"O-oh yeah? Mana?" Shido DESPERATELY tried to change the subject. "Where do you live? I should meet whoever's taking care of you."

"That'd be a bit difficult."

Kotori asked. "Is it the kinda place you can't tell people about?"

"No, but, it's like a workplace with dorms."

"Workplace? Are you working?"

"No, what I'm saying is... Bye!" Mana actually just slipped out like that. Gone.

"What was THAT?" is all Shido had to say.

"Did she actually just dip-a out?" Mario asked.

"She really did."

* * *

Tamae was marking the register, all students present, a good sign. Then she called one name out.

"Tokisaki!"

No response.

"Tokisaki?"

Kurumi wasn't in class. Shido and Tohka turned to Kurumi's seat. "Already gave up on her second day?"

"Absent." Origami said, which shocked Shido. "Kurumi Tokisaki will no longer attend this school."

Tamae didn't think twice. "I told her to contact us if something like this came up..."

The door opened. "I'm here." Sure enough, that was Kurumi.

"Tokisaki, you are late."

"Yeah, sorry about that, I wasn't feeling so good on my way to school."

Worried concerns came from Tamae, with Shido relieved. "Phew, another minute and she'd have been marked absent." He turned to Origami, her face frozen. "Origami?" Shido's phone vibrated, in which he checked in secret because phones weren't allowed in class. A message from Kotori.

"Come to Physics Preperation Room during lunch. There's something I want to show you."

Oh no.

* * *

Everyone was gathered in the Physics Preperation Room. Well, truth to be told, the room was a mini-Fraxinus in disguise. Including Mario.

"Why is Mario here, Kotori?" Shido asked.

"Well, apparently, I have to be a witness to-a this video too..." Mario muttered.

The screen turned on. Very familiar characters. The name appeared. **My Little Shido 2.**

"A SEQUEL?!"

"Wrong window, sorry." Reine said, tired as ever. "This one." She flipped to a more dark scene. The alley Kurumi was in yesterday. "Footage from yesterday."

"That's.. Kurumi and Mana!" Shido stated the obvious.

"Origami?! AST?!" The camera showed them too. "How?!"

Kotori said the truth. "They wouldn't show up unless a Spirit emerged. Watch closely."

The video was haunting. Mana turned into her combat outfit, and Kurumi... wore a Spirit-defined outfit. "Astral Dress..." Shido had to say that. Before Kurumi could attack, Mana fired laser beams. Kurumi got knocked down. Everyone squinted to see from the dark.

"Mama-mia... She's really a Spirit!" Mario said.

Kurumi got up from her wounds, but got hit by ANOTHER few laser beams, cutting a hole through her skin and through Kurumi in general. Mana approached the unconscious Kurumi, the video getting more eerie by the second. Mana drew her sword, aimed it at Kurumi.. and...

Tore through her guts. Very slowly.

Mario and Shido resisted the urge to VOMIT. Mario didn't even cover his mouth, he just stood, eyes shaking. Reine turned off the video before it could get even more gorey.

"This is..." Shido sputtered.

"As you can see, Kurumi Tokisaki was definitely killed by Mana Takamiya of the AST yesterday. Completely. Perfectly. Not a shred of doubt she was killed. She died."

"No way..." Both Shido and Mario said. "But Kurumi came to school today as if everything were normal!"

"Apparently, yeah." Kotori silently said.

Reine turned. "We can't figure out anything either."

* * *

In a dark room of the school, only illuminated by the green tint of a fire exit door, stood Kurumi and Origami. The dark room made it hard to see Kurumi's color scheme of mostly black. "Well, did you need something?" Kurumi innocently asked. "I have yet to eat my lunch. Would you care to join?"

"You died yesterday." Origami told the truth.

"Oh, yeah, I think I remember. You were with Mana, were you not?"

Origami gasped and stepped back. However, something abnormal happened. Demonic shadows were under Origami, and demonic white hands with red outlines pinned her legs, slammed her to the wall, and then pinned her arms. Kurumi could only giggle at this event. "Bad girl, that won't help you. We had a great time yesterday," she stepped closer. "You cleaned it up as if nothing ever happened!" She smiled wider. "Well guess what? I'm. Not. Dead." More shadow hands grabbed Origami's throat.

"What are you after?!"

"Well, you see, I just wanted to get a feel for school life..." She flipped her bang of hair covering her left eye, and it was replaced by an inorganic clock eye. "But I suppose you know what I'm really after. It's SHIDO. I think you know him. I know all about it. You're crazy for him. You stalk him. But too bad." Kurumi herself started to pin Origami to the wall. "I'm afraid my feelings are more powerful than yours for Shido. He is such a wonderful man." Her eyes shrunk in insanity. "He is the _**BEST**_ man! He looks..." She licked her lips. **"DELICIOUS."** She moaned to herself as she gathered all sorts of crazy thoughts. "I long for him! I yearn for him so strongly! I want him. I want his power. I want to make him mine and be one with him!"

Origami was furious as the shadow hands still kept a strong and immobile grip.

Kurumi started laughing... And laughing, and laughing and laughing and laughing and laughing and laughing and laughing and laughing and laughing and laughing and LAUGHING. Shadow hands rose from around Kurumi to signify she was indeed in control of them.

_"HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE!"_

They weren't cute or innocent laughs.

_They were laughs of insanity._


	11. Triple Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three dates at the exact same time. Try not to crack under pressure!

_"Shido! No matter how much-a your life will suck, don't die over it!"_ Mario's words of advice.

To Shido.

They were going to mean HELL.

Because in school in the locker room, Shido was facing Kurumi, and asked her something. A date. To go out on a date.

Mario's words of advice were not going to help.

"Tomorrow?" Kurumi asked. "As in, tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I could show you around the city if your free?" Shido carelessly spoke.

"So is that..." Kurumi smirked. "Asking me out on a date?"

"I guess you could say that.." Shido coughed. "What do you say?"

"Of course!" She beamed. "I'd be honored!"

"Then it's settled! Tomorrow, at 10:30 in front of the Tenguu Station Ticket Office!"

Kurumi bowed. "Will do! I'm extremely looking forward to it!" She skipped off.

Shido kept a stern look as she skipped away, with thoughts in his mind. _"Takamiya Mana killed Tokisaki Kurumi." Reine's voice was in his mind. "We do not yet understand why she's still alive." Kotori was typing and her voice came in too. "But as long as she IS alive, we need to stick with the plan! Tomorrow is a holiday, so you will have no school. Shido! You need to ask Kurumi out on a date!"_

_"E-even with what happened?"_

_"It's BECAUSE of what happened. There's no guarantee that if she dies again, she'll come back."_

_Reine looked at Shido. "Origami most likely informed the AST that Kurumi is alive. Of course, that includes Mana in that category."_

_Shido gasped, but was determined. "Got it." He wanted to save her. "I'll give it a go._ I'll make Kurumi fall for me."

"Make who fall for what?" Origami was right behind him. Stalker.

Of course, Shido gasped. He said stupid stuff out loud. Classic Shido.

* * *

"Mario?" Calls of voices came from the Itsuka residence from the Toads as Mario stared blankely at the screen. The Rabbids were concerned too. No matter how much noise they made, Mario would not answer.

"You, uh, you okay? Mario?"

Still no response.

In truth, Mario is the only one of the Mushroom Kingdom who saw...

THAT VIDEO.

That video haunted him.

Scarred him.

Even now, Mario could see the sword. He could see the guts. He could hear the skin being torn apart. "W-why.." The red blood clouded his vision. He looked at his signature cap. Red as well. "Why is-a my life a living NIGHTMARE?!"

The Toads and Rabbids looked amongst themselves. "Mario, I don't know how much you're terrified, but as soon as we get Luigi, we can get out of here! Surely the Princess can't be kidnapped if there's no Bowser! We haven't seen a GIANT DRAGON TURTLE at all!" Blue Toad assured Mario.

"But WHERE is Luigi? I saw a wormhole that-a lead him to some sort of school..." He put two and two together... "School.. The only place that could be is-!" He looked at Shido's spare uniform he kept in case of emergencies.

"Mario, you're too short to fit into that uniform."

"The uniform isn't important. The uniform that-a belongs to it's-a SCHOOL is important!" Mario pointed out. He looked at the emblem of the uniform. Raizen High. He burst out the door and looked onto the horizon. Raizen high. Mario knew that Luigi would be there. He had to be. He saw Rabbid Peach's wormhole be Tenguu City, and that's where she was. "Raizen High? Pffeh, a walk there is easy. I've been-a through the same 8 worlds every-a time!" Confidence in his voice, he took off, leaving the Toads and Rabbids behind in the dust.

Yellow Toad spoke. "What's with him?"

Blue Toad answered. "Brother complex."

* * *

"I'll ask you one more time. What were you saying about Kurumi?" Origami steppd closer and closer to Shido.

"U-uh... It was nothing! I swear!"

"Answer me." She slammed her hands on the locker, completely trapping Shido. "This is crucial. Please."

"S-sorry!" Shido stuttered with Origami shocked. "Tohka's waiting for me." He put his hands on Origami's shoulders to step her back. "Catch you later!" Shido sprinted off. He ran like he always did. Dating Spirits is emotionally scarring him now.

Origami had a deep concern on her face. Sighing, she could only remember a scene related to Kurumi. The nightmare scene with the shadow hands pinning Origami in every direction.

_"Origami.." Kurumi spoke with still a smug look on her face. "You look delicious too." She creepily licked her lips as she stepped closer to Origami, not fazed by the shadow hands in the slightest. "You look scrumptious..." She moved her hands up Origami's legs. All Origami could do was struggle helplessly. "But... we'll have our fun later." Kurumi kept a sinister look locked onto Origami. "I'll have you for dessert after I have Shido for dinner." She stepped backward, vanishing in the dark along with her shadow hands. She grasped her throat, coughing to save her own life, looking angrily at where Kurumi once was._

Even in the present time, she was holding her throat. "Oh, Shido..."

* * *

"Yeeeah, sorry for ditching you at lunch, Tohka.." Shido was walking with said Tohka at lunch, shopping bags in tow. "But you had something to eat, right? Did you enjoy your packed lunch?" Shido said with a smile.

"Y-yeah.." Tohka said with a sad look.

_In truth, she did NOT eat. She didn't even unwrap her lunch. She was waiting for Shido. Her stomach growled, but she kept waiting. "Where is he...?" Tohka's eyes watered._

_The three gossipers, Ai, Mai, and Mii walked in. "Man, sucks! We won these tickets, but two isn't gonna cut it! Wanna split the cost of one more?" They all looked toward Tohka. "Oh? Tohka?"_

_"You haven't had your lunch yet?" They noticed her watery eyes._

_"-! Wh-what's wrong?!"_

_"Tell us what happened! Who did what?!"_

_Tohka simply shook her head to reassure them. "It's fine... but, Shido hasn't come back yet... and then I realised how little we managed to talk today.. And then tears began to..." And they fell. She looked like a lost child._

_3 seconds later, the three girls hugged Tohka._

_"You don't have to say any more!" Ai spoke._

_Then Mai. "I am not hearing this correctly! Did Itsuka REALLY abandon such a sweet, pure, innocent girl?!"_

_Then Mii. Guess what her phrase was. "That's so lame!"_

_Tohka looked at the cuddle pile. "Oh, no, Shido hasn't done anything WRONG!"_

_Ai shushed her. "No, we totally get it! Take these tickets and we'll help you out!" She held the tickets in front of Tohka, everyone grinning at her in order to accomplish everyone's goals, to make Shido fall for Tohka._

She thought about this and kept a determined face as they walked into the Itsuka Residence.

* * *

They walked in. Shido muttered to himself. "Where's Mario and the gang? I suppose they're just taking a walk..."

Unbeknownst to Shido, Tohka managed to lock the door of the front entrance.

Then closed the curtains.

Shido did notice the curtains. He looked at the suspicious Tohka "It'll be a while until dinner." Shido was COMPLETELY clueless. "Aren't you going back to your apartment?"

She remained silent. Shido was concerned. He stepped closer.

"Hey, Tohka...?"

What Shido then witnessed was unbelieveable. Tohka untied the little bow on her uniform.

Shido stood awkwardly.

Then she started unbuttoning her shirt, one by one.

"Whu-?!" Shido was definitely not prepared enough for THIS.

Tohka got on all fours on the floor, acting like a cat and holding the tickets in her mouth.

"WhwhwhwhwhwhwwhwhwWHAT IS THIS? What's with you!" He stumbled, sitting on the couch.

Tohka crawled toward Shido, not saying a word, still tickets in mouth. She breathed as she looked at Shido, tickets STILL in mouth.

Shido didn't have a clue. "What are you DOING?!"

Halfway through her breathing, Tohka caught on. "It's not working?" She pranced away from Shido, devising a new plan. "Then the next step is..." She looked at a certain note she acquired from the three gossipers. "All right!"

She then stuffed the tickets in her CLEAVAGE.

"WHA?!" Shido jumped back more.

"Shido.." Tohka crawled onto the couch, getting on top of Shido. "I.. have a question.. for you..."

"W-what is it..?"

"Tomorrow... can you go on a... date with me... please?" Tohka trapped Shido the same way Origami trapped him.

"Whu? A date?"

"Yeah." She shoved her cleavage closer. "Pretty please?"

"OKAY, I WILL!" He quickly took the tickets out from there to prevent any more mind-haunting images.

Tohka celebrated. "Whoo! The girls helped me to the extreme! I knew it! We'll meet at 10 tomorrow in front of the Pachiko! Don't forget!" She sprinted off.

Shido just sat, dumbfounded. He then looked at the note. Looks like Tohka also left it there by accident. "What is this?" He read it.

_How to make him yours in an instant_

_Seduction techniques for Tohka_

_1: Female Leopard pose_

_2: Tickets between boobs_

_3: If they don't work, just pin him down!_

Shido was... slightly confused, at this note. Oh well, so long as he can balance a double date, he should be fine. Or so he thought, because right after he had those thoughts, his phone vibrated before he could read all of it. He looked at the picture and sender. An incoming call. "Origami?" He clicked 'accept call' and answered. "Yeah, Origami? What's up?"

"It's not safe to be alone right now."

"Huh-?"

"Tomorrow at 11, meet at the water fountain in Tenguu Station Plaza." Origami spoke all the details.

"But I-!"

"Be there." She quickly ended the call. Beep.. beep... beep...

"CRAP."

A triple date was going to commence tomorrow, and he couldn't vent his feelings toward Mario.

* * *

"Testing, Testing.." Kotori chirped in an earpiece of Shido's. "Do you hear me?" When she came in loud and clear, she started the scolding. "I couldn't believe that it was actually humanly possible to book three dates in one day at the same time, you womanizer."

"You stopped me from turning anyone down."

"If you stopped Tohka, her happiness levels would go down and Spirit energy will return to her. Turning down Origami would make her even more suspicious of you than she already is! Kurumi's not even in the question, she might die for real!"

Shido spoke to interrupt her.

"Where's Mario?"

"Aaah, him! We managed to drag him in. He was going to your school."

"Raizen High? How come?"

Mario chirped in on the earpiece. "It's not like I had a choice! I had a strong-a sense that my-a BROTHER was in that-a School!" Inside Fraxinus was Mario, Kotori, Kannazuki, Yoshino, and Reine.

"Regardless..." Kotori ignored Mario. "Booking a triple date means that you've got support from all of us! Just stick with the scheduled timeline and you'll be good as gold."

"Kotori!" Mario butted in.

"What is it?"

"I think.. we should-a go down. Me, the Rabbids, and the Toads, to stall-a them for time if they're left unattended!"

Kotori munched on her Chupa Chup. (still not sponsored) "Well, it's settled. Just make sure you or the Rabbids don't meet ORIGAMI."

"Toads!" He called them. "Origami!"

"Rabbids!" He called them. "Tohka!"

"Myself!" He called himself. "Kurumi."

"Surely not!" Everyone gasped, but all the Mario characters ran out the door.

"Well, let's hope this chaotic date goes as planned." Kotori huffed. "Only a few minutes remain."

Shido looked at the tickets. "So up first, is the aquariam with Tohka, huh? And who's accompanying me?"

"Rabbids." Kotori spouted out.

"Oh. God."

"G-good luck..." Yoshino whispered to herself.

"It's dangerous, so don't get hurt!" Yoshinon yelled.

"I promise to save everyone!" Shido swore to himself, and saw Rabbids behind a pillar, and he prayed to anyone up there that they wouldn't be stupid enough to interrupt a date.

"Let's start our date." Kotori said her classic line.

* * *

The Rabbids and Shido looked at an incoming shouting Tohka. "Shidooooo!"

There Tohka was, in a pink dress, waving happily and smiling happily along with that. Shido blushed and shrunk his eyes in shock. "T-Tohka..."

Everyone was admiring Tohka's attire in Fraxinus. Reine stated. "I picked out her outfit. It's good, right?" Kotori gave a thumbs up and Yoshino nodded in approval.

Tohka ran up to Shido, still giggling. She stopped and noticed his face. "Shido? What's wrong?"

He had to admit. "Those clothes look cute on you."

It took her a minute to process, but when she did, she turned Mario-red. "Whoa! A-anyway! We should just... go to our destination! Come on!" She quickly turned and walked, still shaking.

"Do you even know where it is?!" Shido called out. He followed Tohka, with Rabbids sneaking after them in case Shido needed to go.

"Off to a good start." Kotori praised.

But then the good start ended. A camera in Fraxinus zoomed in on a certain person. Origami.

"What the hell? She's here an hour early-!"

"Clearly she's desperate, or excited."

Back on ground level, Tohka was as stupid as always. "Shido, what exactly IS an aquarium?" She got tickets to an aquarium but without knowing what it is. Classic Tohka. Shido sighed.

"You don't know? I thought you were the one who wanted to go on a date to this aquarium in the first place."

"Don't get the wrong idea, Shido." Tohka huffed. "I just wanted to go on a date with you, that's all."

Shido coughed. "An aquarium is a place with lots of fish."

Tohka was delighted to hear, but as you might expect, not for the fish, but for the food. "Wow! Salt-grilled?"

"No."

"Acqua pazza? Steamed?" She started to drool.

"The only thing you ever think about is food!" He sighed once more as they entered the aquarium. "You'll see when you get inside."

Meanwhile in Fraxinus, a camera zoomed in on the secondary target, Kurumi. "There she is. 10 minutes early." Kotori spoke.

Back to monitoring Tohka and Shido, Tohka was amazed. "What is this?!" She looked around at the glass walls of the aquarium, stunned by the fish. Even the Rabbids, whom were peeking from a corner to spy on them, were amazed by the fish. They all 'bwaaaaaah'ed in amazement and awe, with Rabbid Luigi getting a little hungry himself. Rabbid Peach slapped Rabbid Luigi to prevent any ideas. They were lucky enough to have Tohka not hear the slapping. Rabbid Luigi slapped Rabbid Peach for slapping him, and then the slaps began. During all this, they were not heard.

"We need to be quiet in here." Shido replied to Tohka but not the Rabbids.

"Oh, sorry. But Shido, this is so amazing...!" She stared at all the aquatic life above her. "These are all fish?!"

"Yeah. Isn't it beautiful?"

"Sure is! It's really beautiful!" She turned to Shido. "Shido! Let's keep moving!"

Kotori interrupted the lovely moment. "Shido." Kotori was looking at the time, 10:28. 2 minutes before Kurumi's date. "It's almost time to meet up with Kurumi."

"Huh? Already?" Shido asked, with Tohka obliviously running forward.

"The Fraxinus will pick you up, so make up an excuse, go outside, and go somewhere where people can't see you."

Tohka turned. "Shido? You aren't coming?"

He made up an excuse very quickly and impressively. "Ow!" He clenched to his stomach.

"W-what's wrong, Shido?" Tohka ran towards him.

Shido put his hand out to assure her. "Sorry, my stomach suddenly-I gotta use the restroom! Go look at the fish while I'm gone!"

"A-are you okay?!" Tohka questioned while Shido ran off. She turned, and just then as soon as Shido ran away, the Rabbids 'tripped' to be visable to Tohka, or maybe that was their plan. "Ooh? Ooh! You guys! Would you view the yummy fish with me?!" Tohka shouted carelessly as she ran up to the Rabbids, her towering over them as Rabbids are not that big. The Rabbids looked at each other, and then gave the double thumbs up. They ran down the aquarium halls like children.

Shido looked around. "Where people can't see me?" He dived for cover at the back of a building.

"Retrieve!" Shido was teleported into Fraxinus. "Okay, now for Kurumi!"

* * *

"ALREADY-?!" Shido was immediately teleported as he began running for Tenguu Station Ticket Office. He made it, five minutes late. He looked at Kurumi, wearing a gothic dress to suit her. "Sorry I'm late..." He panted.

"Oh no." She reassured him. "I just got here myself." She smiled. "Where would you like to go first?"

Meanwhile, Mario himself was peeking. It was his job alone to spy on Kurumi. "Darn-a Kurumi. Thanks to that gorey video, I've got-a PTSD of-a her! Mama-mia..." He cursed while peeking. "It-a doesn't help that I can't-a go to the school to see if-a Luigi's there..."

"Let me think..." Shido thought of where to go first. Options appeared.

**1: Go to the mall and shop together.**

**2: Watch a sweet romance movie together.**

**3: Let her try out underwear at a lingerie shop.**

Mario mentally facepalmed. "As if-a anybody would go for THAT!"

"Quiet, Mario. Just because you're communicating with us doesn't mean you're silent down there." Kotori scolded him. "Now the game begins." She looked at the options. "Make your choice!" 50% tie between Option 1 and 2. Mario was lucky to not jinx himself.

"It's gotta be option 2!" Arguments began in Fraxinus. "In a dimly lit space, their hands would surely link together!"

"Option 1 is the most viable. Girls love shopping!"

Kotori looked. "Both sound pretty good, but..."

Kannazuki finished Kotori's sentence. "Both of those locations are in the Tengu Qwinted complex. The chances of bumping into each other is slim, but we cannot take any risks."

"Still, a lingerie shop is kinda..."

Reine commented. "When asked to show her panties, Kurumi gladly and readily accepted."

Kotori realised, still chewing a Chupa Chup, but that gasp turned into a smirk that most evil villains would have. She then told Shido what to do.

"L-lingerie shop?!" Shido gasped and said out loud.

"You're shouting, pervert." Kotori is still bossy as always.

Shido covered his mouth and looked at Kurumi, as Kurumi entered a thought process. Shido, at this point, was sweating bullets. Kurumi turned to Shido. "If you'll pick something for me..."

Yoshino gasped and Yoshinon couldn't help but shout. "She actually agreed!"

"WHAT?!" Mario shouted, thankfully not heard by Shido or Kurumi. "You mean option 3 was the most-a chosen, even if it-a WASN'T?"

"So bold..." Yoshino covered her mouth and her eyes watered.

Shido was turning redder and redder. "Then let's go..."

"Let's hope you pick me something cute!" Kurumi clinged to Shido and walked off with him, meanwhile on the Fraxinus monitor, Origami was starting to become bird bait, birds landing on her hair, but she didn't move a single muscle. Mario silently followed Shido and Kurumi, while being VERY lucky not to be noticed by Origami. He was also lucky not to walk right smack into Blue Toad and Yellow Toad. He simply waved and dashed off, hoping they could cover Origami.

What Shido entered in on was a decision that he would most definitely regret. A lingerie shop. Kurumi kept clinging to Shido, showing no signs of embarrassment. "My, there are so many!" She let go of Shido and fumbled around the items, pulling out pink and blue underwear. "Which of these looks better to you?" Options appeared on the Fraxinus monitor.

**1: The right one.**

**2: The left one.**

**3: I want something more exposing.**

"You can't be serious..." Mario muttered. He checked the options of Fraxinus, and nearly lost his lunch when Option 3 was drastically rising in votes. More arguing in Fraxinus began.

"This is his chance to attack! If he chooses that option, there's no way she'll resist a kiss! Absolutely bar none!"

Kotori started to sweat. "If she agreed to go to the shop in the first place, it's worth a try."

Shido gulped and sweated more than Kotori. "B-both look nice... B-but I prefer that..." Shido pointed at the black underwear next to Kurumi.

"That's what you want me to wear, Shido?" Kurumi asked.

"OH, I WON'T FORCE YOU TO!"

"Please don't." Mario muttered again.

"As it's something you selected..." She started taking it off the stand. "I'll go try it on!" She went into the changing room.

Shido felt people staring him down from every direction.

"It'd be nice if you could make it quick.."

Complete silence was in Fraxinus as Kurumi changed. Eventually, she was done, and the curtain opened.

And there she was. In the underwear that Shido chose.

Mario fumbled around his pockets, but then realised he forgot his crucifix at home.

Kurumi was just smiling the whole way through. "Well, Shido? How do I look?"

All Shido could do was gasp. But he was shortly interrupted by the three gossipers. Ai, Mai, and Mii. "Itsuka!? What are you doing here?!"

"Why are you with Tokisaki?!"

"At an underwear shop, no less!"

"That's so lame!"

Kotori's alarm went off in Shido's ear. "It's time. Make an excuse and get out of there, right now. Don't forget to reassure Kurumi before you go."

Shido used the same excuse as he used for Tohka. "S-sorry! My stomach hurts! Kurumi, I gotta use the restroom! Feel free to have a wonder around while I'm gone! Y-you look cute in that underwear!" Shido said as he dashed off.

Kurumi slightly blushed. "Ara."

The three gossipers were not gone. Ai first. "Hey!"

then Mai. "Where do you think you're going?!"

"That's so lame!" Then Mii. They all bolted after him.

Mario was really not sure HOW to stall Kurumi after seeing her acts.

* * *

Shido was running while Kotori showed no signs of mercy. "Review the timetable. We're just getting started, Shido."

Shido eventually caught up to Origami, who had birds perched on her everywhere. "Sorry... I'm late..." He panted and wheezed.

"No problem." She said as she was a nest for birds. "I just got here." That, to ANYONE, could have been a big fat mighty lie, but maybe she cared for Shido too much. Stalker kuudere has problems. Shido sweated as the birds took off. "Are you tired?"

"N-not at all!" Shido was as bad a liar as Origami. "U-um, so where do you wanna go?"

"To the movies."

Shido gasped. "Wh-which theatre?! Could it be..."

"Tengu Qwinted. I've already made reservations."

"This is pretty bad for Tohka." Yoshinon and the Toads both muttered. The Toads followed Origami and Shido.

"Huh?" Shido was confused at the diner setup.

"We have time before the showing. Let's have some light lunch."

"O-okay..." Shido gulped down his iced water in one go. Pretty impressive. "Hey, Origami. Why'd you ask me out on a date?"

"I didn't want you to be alone."

"Huh?"

"After the movie, I want you to come to my house." Origami's mouth moved faster than her brain.

"W-why.."

"And I want you to stay over for the time being." Her robotic tone didn't change at all, and it was honestly starting to creep Shido out.

"What?!"

"I'm serious."

Shido gulped. Thankfully, to break it, the waiter of the diner gave them their food. "Thank you for waiting!"

"Same as always." Kotori sighed while Yoshino covered her mouth.

The Toads, who were waiting outside the diner, noticed the elephant in the room. "Fraxinus, Tohka just bolted out the door with Rabbids tugging her."

Shido spat out his food when he saw Tohka run RIGHT PAST HIM. He coughed and sputtered.

"Are you all right?" came from the voice who got spat on.

"Yeah! I gotta use the restroom." He ran out, with Origami just staring at him, and then his food. He had not eaten much at all.

* * *

"Tohka!" Shido ran up to the running Tohka, and then the Rabbids, who noticed Shido, ran off away from sight. Shido sighed.

"Shido!" Tohka yelled. "Is everything okay?" What Shido didn't know is that his 'bathroom break' lasted over an HOUR.

"Y-yeah." Shido sweated AGAIN. Tohka's stomach grumbled, which was normal. "Wanna get something to eat?"

"That sounds like a great idea!" The innocent cinnamon roll smiled.

Thus, his triple date had OFFICIALLY begun.

"I'm amazed you can stuff yourself with so much sushi after seeing all those fish."

"More pickled mackerel, please!"

* * *

Bathroom breaks. Shido needed to go. A lot.

Shido was teleported.

Origami was starting to eat Shido's food, with Toads asking if she wanted more. She lightly refused.

Shido with Kurumi. "You brought that underwear?!"

"You DID say it made me look cute."

Shido with Tohka.

"Shido! Ramen! Let's have ramen!"

"Please no!"

Shido with Origami.

Goodness knows where they were going in the dark alley. Shido lifted his gaze to see an adult hotel. "WHAAA?!"

"Which room should we get?" Origami asked with no emotion. Shido ran off screaming.

Kurumi was staring at puppies in the pet shop.

Shido smiled with Kurumi, and then he noticed Ai, Mai, and Mii again. Every part of the Mario crew were scrambled up, so nobody could help. They slowly turned to Shido.. and got knocked down.

"Hey! That hurt!"

Tears welled up on the person who bumped into them. Yoshino. "I-I'm sorry..." She said while kneeling, her sad look and Yoshinon's face were all too much for the trio to take.

"We're just fine!"

"I hope you weren't hurt!"

"She's so cute it's lame!"

Kotori smiled. "Get 'em, Yoshino."

Mario's end was not doing so good. At one point, he had to jump over Blue Toad and Yellow Toad because Shido was changing dates a lot. Mario swerved around Rabbids, dashing Tohkas, stalking Origamis, innocent Kurumis...

* * *

Speaking of.

"Sorry, Kurumi! Bathroom!"

"Ah, Shido, even on a date, he's restless." She sat down on a bench in the forest park. The very same park that Mario spent his first night in. "You'll be mine in the end, after all." She giggled. "Ara, I need to contain my excitement. My cheeks are so flushed." She said as she dispensed a soda. A meow was louder than the vending machine. Kurumi heard it. She walked towards the noise.

And there was a gang of thugs, aiming pistols and shooting pebbles at the cat. "This one's quick." One thug said.

"There, take that!" They all laughed as they fired shots, quicker and quicker. Kurumi's eyes sought no mercy.

"Ara ara! I see you're doing something intriguing!" Her voice stopped the gunshots.

"Woah!"

"Pay me no mind. Please allow me to join in on your 'amusement'." She said with an 'innocent' grin. She stepped closer and closer. "I may not look like it, but I have experience with a gun myself.

"What should we do?" One thug asked.

"Guess we'll let her." Another said.

"Thank you so much." Kurumi told them. "I would, however, like to make a suggestion. Why don't we modify the rules?" The cat trembled. "Nothing complicated." The cat only had Kurumi in it's eyes, with her being more menacing than the other thugs. "Let's try... **a different target.** "

A black hand covered the Fraxinus monitor. Mario noticed. "What the heck? How does she-a know...?"

"What happened?!" Kotori yelled.

And what Mario saw was more horrifying than the gorey video.

* * *

Tohka and Origami bumped into each other and they fell.

"Sorry!"

"I'm sorry. I should have been more careful."

Then the Toads and Rabbids bumped into each other.

"BWAH-!"

"Bwah bwah bwah bwah!" Rabbid Peach scolded the Toads.

"Hey, Tohka's there, don't bump into us!" Blue Toad shouted.

All of them realised they met at the exact same location.

"Origami! Why are you here?!"

"Yatogami Tohka...! I have no obligation to tell you."

"Wha? Fine! I don't have time to deal with you!"

"I am also occupied."

"I must find Shido, after all!" That last line was said by them both at the exact same time.

Silence filled. Tohka was the first to complain. "What?! Shido's on a date with ME!"

"I am not lying! Shido is on a date with me!" They both grumbled when Origami realised. _"Could there be another?! If there is..."_

"Hey, hold on! I'm not done chewing you out!" Tohka followed Origami, with the Toads and Rabbids tagging along, because Mario was nowhere to be found either.

* * *

"Shido! We lost sight of Kurumi!" Kotori shouted through the earpiece.

"What are you guys DOING?!" Shido yelled back.

"Spirit waves detected! In the woods near the park's east gate!"

Shido ran there, in the dark woods, even though it was daylight. Shido covered his mouth and nose. What was that awful smell? Shido unconsciously opened his eyes to reveal the scene before them. A world of dripping crimson. Blood. On the ground, leaves, and the trees. It was EVERYWHERE in the woods. Everyone on Fraxinus was stunned, with Kotori's eyes shaking witnessing the horror. Shido panted too, looking at the scene. He looked at a dismembered foot from a shoe. That was his last sanity before he SCREAMED. "Shido! Calm down!" Kotori tried to tell him, but he kept screaming, trembling... He covered his mouth. He was about to throw up. He didn't want to.

"SHIDO?!" Mario yelled. He was in quite the situation himself.

"Ara?" That voice. Shido looked up. Crimson and black frills in the style of a Gothic Lolita was the attire of her dress. "Shido, you're already here?" Uneven black twin tails swayed in the wind. Kurumi looked at Shido, with her inorganic clock eye. She was pointing a gun at one of the thugs who had a target painted on his stomach.

When Shido turned to Mario, he was completely pinned down by shadow hands. Even if Mario is one of the strongest beings that Shido knew, Mario could not escape the hands.

"H-help me!" came from both the thug and Mario. "She's a m-monster!"

Kurumi turned to the thug. "Isn't it ironic that you had the idea to kill a creature, but when I have you at gunpoint, you're scared of being killed yourself." She aimed her gun. "How does it feel to look down the barrel of a gun?" She then fired. Straight through the man's stomach. Four more shots was overkill. "Oops, my hand must have slipped." Shido's vision was blurry as Kurumi faced him. This was reality that Shido was facing. "I'm not done yet. Don't move. You'll regret it." Kurumi walked slowly to Mario, still being held down.

"So, you're a resident of another world? I witnessed your enemy turning into a Spirit right before me." Kurumi told him. "I suppose I should help that enemy out to get information out of me." She held her gun at Mario's forehead.

"Y-you wouldn't!" Mario stuttered.

And then her shot came. Mario's forehead was punctured. Time froze for Mario. The shadow hands released him, but that doesn't matter. Mario's vision turned blurry, uncommon... Unable to gather anything. He saw red. Crimson red. Before Mario could black out, he could hear the screams of Shido, and the smile of Kurumi... "Luigi... I'm-a sorry.. I couldn't save you..." And like that...

All of his energy was gone.

* * *

 **"Hey, are you still there?"** A voice came with a glitchy presence. Mario looked around the area. White everywhere. Mario looked at the source of the voice. A glitchy presence. Just like before.

"Whuh...?" Mario was speechless.

 **"I was wondering who it might be."** The glitchy presence commentated, before taking the form of a glitchy human. It smiled. **"Hey, you're Mario, right? From the Mushroom Kingdom?"**

"Yeah...?"

**"I knew it was you. I'm sorry, but I knew it was too soon for our meeting, but alas, your game has ended."**

"What do you want from-a me...?"

**"I can help you figure out who gave Bowser his power."**

"Please.. tell me."

**"Since you're dead, I'll announce the culprit. The one who gave Bowser his power is..."**

"Is-a-who?!" Mario yelled. He pointed at the glitchy presence. "And stop-a censoring your body! It's-a bad health! I want to TALK to you, face to face!"

 **"Perhaps I could find familiarity within you... I see..."** The glitchy presence then transformed, losing it's glitchy voice and becoming the form similar to Mario. Except it wasn't Mario. It was a clone of Mario with a blue hat, blue shirt and white overalls. The cap had a '4' on it. "Perhaps finally we can talk like this."

"Is that-a your real appearance?" Mario was just... stunned that the presence managed to nearly perfectly replicate Mario.

"This isn't. If I use this form, however, little kids would flock to my side. But since you're in half-purgatory," The Mario clone shrugged. "Nobody can rescue you from this."

"So who is the culprit?!" Mario was furious.

The clone just stood and looked at Mario. "Isn't it obvious? I'm the culprit. I'm an otherworldly being. I'm a glitch. That's the idea with this costume. Now, perhaps run along and get the main story, hmm?" The Mario clone transformed back into the glitchy presence. **"But don't worry, we'll meet up real soon."**

**"I believe in you, Mario."**

* * *

Mario woke up in the woods. That's right. Unlike other humans, Mario can eat 1-up Mushrooms to continue his life, even if he had died. He weakly rose up. He saw Kurumi getting beaten up by... Wait, was that Mana? There was another figure next to Mana. That was not Shido, or Kurumi.

And then Mario witnessed an unbelieveable face. That face was...


	12. Frenzied Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hero Mario needed is finally here, performing for you!

"Huh...?" Mario looked at the scene. Blood everywhere. Kurumi had been knocked back. Mario died, but he's been brought back somehow. A 1-Up? It's hard to say. He saw Shido knocked back, Mana facing Kurumi.

"That sure was a close call, but we had each other's backs." That's right, Mana had a partner with her. The partner in question was not human - it was a hulking ape with a red tie that Mario knew so well. "Right, **Donkey Kong**?"

"Mana... who...?" Shido was just as surprised as Mario.

"Well, I'm sure you're surprised, nii-sama."

"Ara ara..." Kurumi got up. "Excuse me, but Shido and I were on a lovely date and I find it terribly rude that you interrupted us."

"Just a minute, nii-sama. This won't take very long." She aimed her laser gun and fired at Kurumi, in which she dodged. Mana smiled, for this was part of the plan. Donkey Kong quickly got up and grabbed Kurumi, and slammed her back to the ground. The lasers followed them and quickly sliced Kurumi.

"KURUMI!" Shido and Mario yelled.

Kurumi tilted her head, realising what just happened. She fell onto the ground, on her back, struggling to stay alive. Mana just simply stared at her, with no sign of emotion. Donkey Kong just looked at Mario in guilt, before facing Kurumi too.

"Stop!" Shido shouted. "Don't kill her!"

Kurumi heard this and choked to still say her final words. "Yes.. I knew... You are... too kind... Shido..." Her eye reflected the incoming laser beam and "banana slamma" from Donkey Kong.

"How..." Shido looked at Mana. "How can you be so CALM about this?! You just killed a person!"

"That person was a SPIRIT, Nii-sama." A forcefield surrounded Mana, which transformed her battle outfit into a casual normal one.

"Besides, I've done this plenty of times."

Mario slowly got up. Shido still hasn't seen Mario yet. Shido still thinks Mario is dead. Donkey Kong immediately noticed and ran towards Mario, stopping in front of him.

"It's-a really you..." Mario looked at DK.

"Hurmph!" Donkey Kong gave a thumbs up.

* * *

"So.. you've learned details from Master Sergeant Tobiichi." Mana talked to Shido after being confronted. "Well, you should consider this a bad dream, and forget all about today." Mana did not change her tone much like Origami.

"As if I could!" Shido shouted.

"She's not fully dead, you know." Shido gasped. "Nightmare, Kurumi, is a special Spirit. No matter how many times you kill her, no matter the method you use... she'll appear and kill people, over and over. So I will kill her. Over and over. Relentlessly hunt her down. Again and again and again and again-"

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Shido raised his voice. "That's not getting used to it! You've become as bad as her!"

"No one else can do it." Mana pushed Shido back via forcefield.

"I'm not done yet-!" Shido was pushed back onto the ground. He quickly got up and slammed his hand on the forcefield. "Damn it!"

All that's left in Kurumi's pool of blood were Mana and the cat that Kurumi saved. Mana got thoughts in her head. _"How..."_ Shido's voice got in her head. "How... you ask..." Mana cluched her head, then heard something from an earpiece.

"Shido! Abort the operation!" Kotori's voice was heard in the earpiece. "Withdraw at once!" But Shido couldn't hear, for the earpiece was not in his ear, but on the ground. "Shido, do you copy?!"

Mana judgingly looked at the earpiece.

* * *

"Ngh.." Mario was being supported by Donkey Kong. He could barely walk after being shot in the head. It did make sense. DK was indeed bigger, faster and stronger too.

Through the towns they went, Donkey Kong did not care about people giving him weird looks because he was an ape. He made his way through the sunset town. He stopped when he noticed four figures.

"Mario! And... Donkey Kong?!" Blue Toad gasped.

"DK?! You're here?!" Yellow Toad too. "I nearly tropical freezed myself from seeing you!"

"Ook ook!" Donkey Kong gave them the thumbs up and then noticed the third figure. Rabbid Luigi. He looked confused at him, but then noticed the fourth figure. There, the same species as Rabbid Luigi, was Rabbid Peach. Donkey Kong went on an adventure with her before.

And so he ran and gave her a big hug. Rabbid Peach was spooked, but quickly noticed who the figure was and hugged back, very happy to see Donkey Kong again. They let go and high-fived, thankfully not blasting Rabbid Peach away.

They then turned to the supported Mario, and noticed a dent in his forehead. "Mario!" The Toads cried.

"I'm-a fine..." Mario lied. "Just a... scratch."

"Mari-o...? You're... alive?" There was Shido.

"I think I am.." Mario lied again.

"Shido!" Tohka and Origami ran up to Shido. "Shido, where have you been?! Oh, who's that? It looks huge!" Tohka pointed at Donkey Kong. All she got in response was a questioning look from the ape.

"What in the world happened?" Origami asked, not concerned about DK or Mario at all.

Tohka looked down at Shido's hand. Red. "You're hurt!" Shido looked down on his own hand. Red. The red reminded him of the blood. The vicious blood and Kurumi's smile. He got his hand away from Tohka. "S-sorry.. did that hurt?"

"No..." He looked at them. "Sorry." He took off.

"Shido!" Everyone called after him.

* * *

"Ngh..." Shido looked around, walking home in the sunset. There, he saw Tohka. "Hey." Shido called.

"Hey." Tohka replied. "Is your hand feeling better?"

"Sort of."

"That's great!" She held his hand while smiling. "We can go now!"

"Go where?!" Tohka dragged him.

"We're continuing our date, silly!"

Request after request after request. Tohka's definition of 'date' is an all-you-can-eat-buffet.

In front of a LITERAL all-you-can-eat-buffet, Shido sweated. "Uh, Tohka.. I don't have much money on me..."

"Oh, don't worry about money! Reine lent me her magic card!" She pulled out a card.

"You mean credit card? Wait - is that a black card?"

"Reine also told me about them..." Tohka suddenly got serious. "About Kurumi and Mana..."

"I see..." Shido sighed. "Well, you also know that I have to stop Kurumi from killing any more people." They walked around the path at night, getting vivid flashbacks of all their memories. Their first memories of Tohka, the arcade, the date...

"Yeah."

"But I'm scared. I don't know how I can talk to her." Shido looked at the neon city at night. It was beautiful. "Sure, she may be a spirit... but she's too different from you or Yoshino..."

"Now that's not true and you know it, Shido. She's not different at all." She smirked and looked at Shido. Shido wondered what she was on about. She reached out and clenched his hand like typical lovers. "Kurumi and I... we're the same." She stared into Shido's eyes. "You were there for me." Flashbacks of their date began once more. Tohka pointing her sword at Shido, lost and confused... "You saved me. With things like today's date, you showed me the warm side of this world. If it weren't for you, I would've turned out like Kurumi." An alternate universe began in her head, Tohka killing people with her sword and she was smiling. "If there was a difference between me and her, it's that..." She clenched his hand tighter. "someone extended to me a caring hand."

Shido took all this in. "Thank you, Tohka. You made me remember something important."

"Oh? Does that mean you're not afraid anymore?"

"I am still a little scared..."

"It's alright. I'll protect you."

"That reassures me some."

"I know, right?" Innocent Tohka. "Shido... can we stay like this a little longer?" She looked at the view of the city.

"Ah. Sure."

* * *

"...so how did Donkey Kong end up in this world anyway?" Blue Toad asked, in the Itsuka residence, sipping coffee.

"As far as I know..." Yellow Toad answered. "His home's either in another dimension or a far-off island!"

"That-a means the vortex must've-a covered the entire kingdom at this point..." Mario sighed. "We have a lot more people to collect, that-a way."

"Surely some beings were strong enough to endure it... right?" Mr. Optimistic Blue Toad.

"I hate to say it, but no." Mr. Negative Yellow Toad.

"Yeah. Who knows how-a big our collection is gonna get?" Mario looked out the window. "I..." He remembered the last time he tried to go to the school. He was interrupted via triple date. "I need to go back to that-a school." Mario set his sights on Raizen High. He could feel a very strong presence there. "I feel as if.. someone is-a waiting for me to save them from-a this nightmare..."

"If that's the case... At least take someone with you so you aren't lonely."

"I've-a already decided. Donkey Kong, you'll have to stay. I don't-a want you getting hurt." Mario pointed at DK. He looked sad, but was really touched about Mario's feelings for safety. He nodded.

"Huh?" Yellow Toad questioned. "You aren't bringing Donkey Kong? Then who ARE you bringing?"

"Rabbid Peach."

"Whaaa?!" Blue Toad exclaimed. Rabbid Peach perked up her head from her phone upon hearing her name enter her giant ears. She looked around, confused.

"That's-a right, Rabbid Peach. You're helping me go to-a school!" That... really didn't sound cool now that he said it out loud.

"Uuuh..."

"It-a works, shut up."

"It really doesn't."

"Shut up."

* * *

"Ah, Shido, good morning!" There was Kurumi, again, in the school. Shido was putting in his outdoor shoes into his locker and bringing out his school shoes. He simply closed it and looked at Kurumi angrily.

"Good morning." He turned to Kurumi fully, and didn't notice three gossipers behind him; Ai, Mai and Mii.

"How dare you come here, Itsuka?"

"How dare you show your face at school?"

"How dare you be so lame?"

"Wait guys, you can't bother Shido right now-!" Tohka burst in, pushing along the trio. "He's very busy!"

"I am a little surprised though..." Kurumi put her hand on her chin in a thought-provoking manner. "I was quite sure you would miss school today." She was smiling innocently, but the innocent part was no longer there. That smile was innocent... but sadistic.

"Kurumi." Shido coldly replied.

"That's me!" She beamed.

"I've decided to save you." Those five words might set off a bomb.

She was taken aback, but then replied. "You certainly say some strange things."

"I'm being serious. I won't allow you to kill any more people. I won't allow Mana to kill you anymore."

Kurumi's eyebrows slowly went downwards. She then lifted them up after hearing Shido's words. "Is that so?" Shido simply stared at her as she took off after that statement. Yes. He was going to save her. He saved Tohka, and Yoshino. He saved others, but he was saved himself. Mario helped. The Rabbids (ironically) helped. Everyone did.

Classes went on like usual. The sunlight felt... ominous. Nothing strange was happening.

Except now was the time for something strange... to happen.

* * *

Kurumi was on the rooftop. With the spin of her heels, darkness enveloped her as a ticking noise sounded throughout the quiet rooftop. Her hair fluttered around this transformation, showing her clock eye, she gazed with more determination than ever.

She raised her hand, as her Astral Dress returned to her. Gothic Lolita. During this whole transformation, she never set her foot down.

And then she did.

Darkness poured out from her standpoint, growing rapidly. The whole school was starting to become covered in crimson.

"Shido, let me test the honesty of your words..." She said to herself. She was brimming with determination, but not the good kind.

The kind to make Shido **SUFFER.**

* * *

Inside an old abandoned building..

"Ratatoskr." The voice filled the room. The big room. There were two people in the big room. A blue hair girl and a red hair girl. Red vs. Blue. "I never would have thought that you and nii-sama were with the likes of them." Mana was the blue.

"You've done your homework." Kotori replied. "What do you want?"

"Itsuka Shido." For once, Mana called Shido by his actual name. "Sending nii-sama against a dangerous Spirit, without even a weapon.. As a sister, you've failed him. I'll take care of things from now on."

"Don't make me laugh." Neither of the two were fazed by each other's insults. "Why would I entrust Shido to a corrupt company like Deus Ex Machina Industries?"

"How did you know about them?!" Mana's eyes sharpened.

"Don't underestimate me. Apart from Ratatoskr, it's the only company that supplies Realizers to the world's military and police forces. You're an employee of theirs who's been appointed to the AST."

Mana couldn't believe it.

* * *

And neither could Shido. He was staring outside the window. He had to save her. This was his future. To save Spirits. And to get Mario home, but saving Spirits was top priority. "Alright.. okay..."

In Fraxinus, the school was being monitored. "Tokisaki Kurumi has not yet left the school." Reine said in her sleepy voice. "The problem being if she listens to the voice of reason."

"Where's Kotori?" Shido asked, tapping his earpiece.

"Urgent business. I'll be your navigator for this mission."

"Understood. I'm counting on you. I hope Mario can underst-" Shido was VERY rudely interrupted. Reality had warped itself inwards and outwards. Everyone except Shido collapsed to the floor, the school being surrounded in a nightmare-like red tint aura. "What the...?!" He was BAFFLED. "Reine!"

"We're analyzing it." Reine payed no attention to the reality warp.

* * *

Mana and Kotori were still at it.

"I can't let you call it a corrupt company. They gave me a reason to LIVE when I had lost my memories. I can never repay them for that." Mana started.

"Are you serious? Despite what they've done to you?" Kotori replied.

"What are you talking about?"

Kotori remembered something. She had a flashback of her and Reine. _"During the argument in Shin's house, I've gathered information about Mana's cup she drank from. Her whole body's been infused with excessive amounts of magical energy. By this process, her lifespan has greatly shortened. Ten years to live."_ She thought of all of this. "Don't tell me.. you don't know?"

Both of their phones vibrated at the exact same time. Kotori was the first to pick up. "I'm here. What is it?"

"Commander, we've detected intense Spirit waves at Raizen High School. We think it's Kurumi."

Her eyes narrowed. "What...?!"

They both ended their calls at the same time, looked at each other and agreed. There was a much bigger threat to tackle. They also ran off at the exact same time, which is perfect because they're both sisters of our lovable main protagonist.

* * *

"Oh.. that's... menacing." Mario finally arrived at the school, only to be greeted by a giant crimson barrier. "But.. Giant barriers don't-a scare me! I've got to go inside... and-a SAVE someone!"

Rabbid Peach looked just about done with Mario's monologing. She just checked her phone.

"Come on... Let's-a-go... to the roof. That's-a where I feel the strongest feeling..." Mario slowly walked into the school. He immediately felt drained... "Gh.. can't-a run.. huh... This barrier... Kurumi, was this-a you?" He thought nothing of it. The will to keep going... was all on Mario. Despite the heavy impact of the barrier, Mario kept moving on like a soldier. "Kinda... tough, heh. You won't stand a chance against-a me.." Mario was dragging Rabbid Peach along.

* * *

"It's a wide barrier. It's purpose seems to cause weakness to humans within it's range." Reine analysed the situation.

"Why would Kurumi..."

"S-Shido..." Shido turned to the voice. It was Tohka, also weak.

"Tohka! Are you alright?!" He asked while she was leaning against the wall.

"Yes, but my body feels heavy.."

"Why am I the only one not affected?" Shido asked the earpiece.

"You sealed Tohka and Yoshino. Their spiritual power is protecting you. As in, divine protection of Spirits. In that enviroment, you're the only one who can move normally." Reine said all this without breaks.

"Analyst, wait." Kannazuki halted Reine. "There's one other."

"Really?!" Shido gasped.

"Yes. But it's Mario."

"M-Mario?!" Shido gasped but in horror. "Ugh... I can't focus on Mario! I got to get to Kurumi! But where..."

As if to answer, the school announcer came on. "Shido, my darling, can you hear me?" That was Kurumi's voice. Shido turned to the announcer voice, and so did Mario, it was playing throughout the whole school. She creepily giggled. "If you, by chance, have any business with me, please make your way to the roof. Something tells me you might want to get there as soon as possible!" Her psychotic laughter filled the school as the announcement cut.

"...Tohka, you rest here." Shido commanded. "It's okay. I'll handle this."

"Shido-!" Tohka could only call out as Shido ran off.

* * *

Origami was affected by the barrier too. She pulled out some weird device, and pressed on it. "Identification: AST, Tobiichi Origami." The device opened, revealing it to be a Basic Realizer. It was ready for activation. "Basic Realizer. Deployment authorised." She put the device on a part of her forehead. It clicked in and instantly started transforming Origami's clothes (in a painful manner) into her classic AST outfit. She gripped the pain and looked up, determined to stop this threat.

* * *

Shido looked at the door to the rooftop. It had been punctured by a bullet. He narrowed his eyes as he slowly opened the creaking door. The rooftop was purple. He had to adjust his eyes to the nightmare, and when he did, he saw her.

"Welcome, Shido. I've been expecting you." There was Kurumi.

* * *

Origami was running down the halls. Ryouko was talking with Origami on the communicator. "You're using the emergency device, right? What's the situation?"

"Extremely dangerous." Origami replied in a flat tone. "Requesting backup." She stopped running. That's when Origami saw her.

"Origami, where are you going off to in such a hurry?" There was Kurumi.

"Tokisaki Kurumi." Origami said her name.

"You'll have to forgive the imposition, but I cannot allow you to proceed beyond this point." Origami activated her sword upon Kurumi's words.

* * *

Tohka was still sitting powerless against the barrier. "Shido... Shido!" She kept repeating his name. She gritted her teeth and slowly tried to pull herself up. She gasped for air as she slammed onto the floor, laying down now. "That... really hurts... Shido..!" Tohka was determined to save him. "Move...! Move...! MOVE!" She commanded her body.

At once, her Astral Dress popped into existence. She was finally able to stand up. Due to being sealed, the only defining Spirit features on Tohka were the dress and hair bow. "Oh, now we're talking..." She stopped all words when she heard a bullet fire. She shrieked as she dodged out of the way. "Who's there?!" And there, from the shadows, she saw her. "You?!"

"Good afternoon, Tohka." There was Kurumi.

* * *

"Gh... Getting my-a bearings...!" Mario was starting to walk at a normal pace in the barrier. "I just need to get to-a the rooftop!" Mario turned to the first flight of stairs. "How are you feeling, Rabbid Peach?"

"Bwuuuh..." The Rabbid was still sick from the barrier.

"We'll be-a fine. Hmm? What is it, Rabbid Peach?"

"BWAH!" Rabbid Peach leapt forward, despite her sickness, and activated her Shield. It quickly deflected a bullet.

"Huh...?!" Mario turned his head to up the stairs. And he saw her.

"Mario, it's you. I thought I punctured your head with a bullet. Oh well. Second time's the charm." There was Kurumi, and she aimed her gun at Mario and Rabbid Peach.

* * *

The whole school was covered in this nightmare barrier.

"Kurumi... What did you do?" Shido asked.

"Isn't it beautiful? The Time-Consuming Castle? A barrier that sucks out the time of those who tread my shadow."

"Time?" Shido averted his gaze to Kurumi's odd-looking eye. "That..."

"This represents my time." Kurumi was holding her hair up for Shido to see the clock eye. "You could also call it my life span. My angel possesses quite marvelous powers. But unfortunately, a large amount of my time is consumed every time I use them. So... every once in a while, I replenish it from an external source. This barrier is in this manner."

"Y-you do what?!"

"Everyone here... they're my cute, adorable, unfortunate prey. Ah, but you, Shido... you're special. After all." Her eyes lit up, licking her finger with her toungue. "I came here to become one with you, to devour you in a more traditional way."

"If it was only me you wanted, there was no need for THIS!" Shido managed to retaliate.

"But before I do, I want you to take back the statement you made this morning. That nonsense about 'saving me'. I have done all this for that reason alone. Aren't you scared of me, Shido? Aren't I downright awful? Isn't it obvious that I am not a person to whom you should show compassion?" She stepped closer and closer, until she was right in Shido's face. "So please, retract your earlier words." She rubbed her hand on his cheeck "Do that, and I'll reward you by taking down this barrier." Shido couldn't believe it, and she giggled psychotically, and she approached Shido's ear and whispered. "Come on.. do not dally... if we do not hurry, the effects will be irreversable."

Shido sighed. "Remove this barrier, please." Kurumi smiled when she heard this, but Shido continued. "But I won't give up on you."

Kurumi pulled back from Shido. "What are you saying?" They stared each other down for a bit. "Oh dear, you're positively hopeless." She jumped back and raised her hand. Shido could NOT believe what he heard next.

**A SPACIAL QUAKE ALARM.**

"I trust you know what this sound is. Oh what could I possibly be doing?"

"The spacequake alert?!"

Everyone on Fraxinus was stunned too, with their alarms going off. "Is Tokisaki Kurumi really causing this?" Kannazuki asked.

"A sudden disasterous spacequake." Reine added. "She's intentionally causing it?"

Kurumi giggled into massive outbreaks of laughter. "So, what are you going to do?! What would become of the unconscious students if a spacequake were to occur?" The sky started to swirl above them. A real spacequake.

Shido was puzzled, but Reine helped him out. "Shin, Kurumi's mental state is changing. It's as if she's afraid of you."

"That's it...!" Shido thought to himself, and then said out loud; "Kurumi, you said your goal was to eat me, right? Then stop the spacequake!" Kurumi was confused at first, but Shido persisted. "If you DON'T..." He grabbed the hand railings of the school roof and STOOD on them. He was now an inch away from death. "I'll just jump from here and die!"

Kurumi was curious. "Taking yourself hostage?" She smiled once more. "Such a weak threat. If you are really willing to do that, then let me see you TRY."

"Then watch me." Shido confirmed. He then widened his arms... and leaned backwards. He fell from the railings. Kurumi narrowed her eyes and used a portal to grab Shido mid-air and back onto the roof.

"I can NOT believe you did that! Are you a simpleton?!"

"It's clear now." Shido looked up. "I make a good hostage. If you could stop the spacequake, that'd be great. Oh, and take down the barrier while you're at it. If you don't, I swear I'll kill myself."

"What's wrong with you-?!" Kurumi pouted. But at once, she snapped her fingers. The sky stopped swirling. The barrier faded into nothing. Clear blue skies were available to everyone once more.

"All right. Now, one more thing."

"There's more?"

"Kurumi, won't you allow me to give you an opportunity to start anew?"

"You still haven't given up? Such a favor would be unwelcome!"

"You don't know that! You could come to enjoy a relatively normal, peaceful life!" He clenched his fist. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have enjoyed our date!"

Kurumi started to lose her voice. "But.. that's not..."

"It's possible! I can make it happen!" He shouted, hoping for the best. "Sure, you'll be atoned for all the sins you committed for the rest of your life, but Kurumi, no matter how much wrong you do, that's no reason for me not to save you!"

Kurumi was stunned at this point. "I..." Shido smiled at this and held out his hand for her to reach out for. "Shido..." She reached out her hand as well."Would you really give me..." But at that point, something punctured her stomach.

 _"That won't do."_ A familiar voice called out. _"You must not let his his words lead you astray.~"_ Shido looked down at her stomach. A shadow hand she used to pin him down at the date.

"Kurumi-?!"

"I.. I..."

 _"Yes, yes, it's clear now... It's time you went to sleep."_ Kurumi's Astral Dress left her, becoming naked. She laid on the floor. The culprit to this was... "Good grief." Kurumi!

"Kurumi...? Why...?"

"I guess I was too young back then." Shadow hands grabbed the lifeless Kurumi and dragged her down. More then grabbed Shido's arms and legs. "Now, let's get down to business." Kurumi laid her hand on Shido's cheek again, but it did not last long. It was cut off. The figure who did it flew down.

* * *

"Mana?" Shido asked. That's right. A blue-hair girl. Shido's sister.

"Yes. It seems I've come yet again in the nick of time. Are you ever not in trouble, nii-sama?"

Kurumi ONCE AGAIN laughed. "Impressive as always." Mana got into a fight stance and glared at Kurumi. "You were able to cut through my Astral Dress with such ease." She leaned forward. "However, I can't have all the killing for myself."

Kurumi continued. "Come to me, _**ZAFKIEL**_!" Shadows manifested behind her. It formed a giant clock. That was her ANGEL. "Dalet." She commanded. Her clock eye fast forwarded, confirming her 'usage of time'. Shadows came from the fourth symbol of the clock and into her gun. She shot at her own head. As if time rewinded, the cut-off hand made it's way back to Kurumi and slid on as if it was never cut off at all. Shido gasped, but Mana wasn't fazed.

"An impressive healing ability."

Kurumi giggled. "Oh, but that isn't it at all. I simply turned back time." She aimed her guns in a battle pose. "Come now, let us begin!" She looked at Mana.

"That's fine by me." Mana weilded her laser sword. "I'll do as I always do and kill you."

Kurumi giggled so much that her teeth gritted. "Do you still not comprehend? Truly killing me is something you will NEVER be able to do!" Her red eye grew a bright light, making Kurumi more menacing.

"I'll cut off your voice before I cut you apart!"

"Aleph!" Kurumi commanded, with the first symbol of the clock having shadows enter her gun. She shot her own head. Instantly, she WARPED. She was right next to Mana, smiling insanely. She quickly shot Mana with a normal bullet.

"Mana!" Shido called.

Mana flew in the air and dived towards Kurumi, but Kurumi warped again and kicked Mana in the back. "Zayin." Seventh bullet. She then shot Mana.

"Such weak-" Mana was then frozen in time itself.

"MANA!" Shido called again.

Kurumi shot Mana in all her vital parts. Kurumi floated gently down. "Kurumi-" Shido was about to speak. Mana landed on the ground with a thud. "Mana!"

"Nii-sama... Please stand aside..." Not much Shido could do about that. He was still restrained in shadow hands.

"Shido!" A triple voice came from the doorway. There was Tohka, Origami and Mario! (and Rabbid Peach too)

"The four of you came-!"

"Ara ara, now we're all here." Kurumi chuckled.

Tohka started chewing her out. "You think you can run in the middle of a fight?"

Then Origami. "I won't let you get away this time!"

And then Mario. "Fleeing isn't an option anymore!"

Kurumi just shrugged this off. "Oh, this is oh so scary. There are so many of you attacking a single frail girl like me. But I also mean business today." Mana struggled to get up while Tohka, Origami and Mario stared her down. "Isn't that right, my other selves?" Shadows extended from Kurumi's feet again. Shadow hands raised up and took form of humans. Everyone gasped. They all took the form of KURUMI.

"What the heck is this?!" Shido couldn't bear his surroundings.

"They are all ME. My personal history. They are versions of me from different time axes." Mana finally got up after seeing the crowd of Kurumis. "Do you see now why you could never truly kill me?"

Tohka and Origami were surrounded. "I have no idea what's going on!" Tohka screamed.

"Now, let us end this."

Tohka was pinned down by one Kurumi and held by gunpoint by many.

Origami was also surrounded by gunpoint.

Mario and Rabbid Peach were back-to-back as they were also circled. "Mama-mia!"

Not even Mana was safe from gunpoint.

"Now I can finally continue. Ah, yes, so you could never sway me again." The shadow hands pinning Shido were replaced by a clone of Kurumi. "I'll have to carve despair into your heart." She raised her hand again. The alarm for the spacial quake started again.

"No, you wouldn't!" Shido protested.

Kurumi laughed. "This time, many are certain to die!"

"Stop it!" Shido screamed. Everyone in the town was evacuating, but the people in the school were still unconscious.

Kurumi laughed to the top of her lungs, clenched her fist and slammed her arm down.

The swirl in the sky quickly formed, creating a giant purple barrier; a SPACEQUAKE. It quickly grew bigger and bigger...

but it was knocked away.

Everyone looked at the launched spacequake. "What in the world was that?"

"Didn't you know?" A familiar voice came from the sky. A girl in red hair descended. "If you hit a spacequake at the moment it starts with a tremor of of similar scale... they'll cancel each other out." All the clones and victims stared at the new being. Clothing that looked like it belonged to a deity. Sparkling flames covered the coral twin-tailed human.

Origami's eyes spazzed. "That's..."

Shido continued. "Kotori...?"

A new Spirit has arrived. KOTORI.

"I'll have your back for a while, Shido." She twirled, giant flames circling Kotori. "Scorch, Camael!" And thus, a giant flaming axe was in her hands. "Whattya say? Ready to start our date, big bro?"

Mario and Rabbid Peach looked at the being. The giant axe, the flames...

The memories seared into Mario's eyes.

"The Flame Spirit has-a returned...?!"


	13. Bro Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Flame Spirit. Mario's greatest enemy so far. Let's-a-go.

Everyone was staring dumbfoundly at the giant circles of flame.

A Flame Spirit has just arrived, and caught the attention of everyone. Almost. Origami was still struggling against a Kurumi Clone, but was ultimately powerless. Tohka was just confused.

However, the three people who were most shocked were Mario, Rabbid Peach and Shido. The Flame Spirit wasn't just some stranger. It was Shido's adoptive little sister.

"Kotori...? Why...?"

Kurumi's shock quickly turned into a smirk. "Could you please leave us be? Your flames don't scare me." Zafkiel manifested behind Kurumi again. "Because you're not the only one with a cool toy!"

"You've gone a bit overboard, Kurumi." Kotori simply replied. "Now kneel. I've come to repay you."

Kurumi giggled. "Well, this is fascinating! You're going to punish me?!" Mario felt like he heard that somewhere before. "You think you can?"

"Yes." Kotori replied again, slowly descending upon the school roof. "If you don't want a spanking, then dispel your clones and your angel."

Kurumi's teeth were still wide with a smirk. "You seem to have tremendous confidence in your power! But such assumptions will lead to death. But my Zafkiel will-"

"Shut it. Stop bragging and come at me, you black swine!"

Mario could almost feel the racism right there. Shido was just too shocked to do anything.

"Very well then!" At once, all the clones started sprinting towards Kotori. She simply smiled.

"Camael!" She started preparing her axe. Mario gritted his teeth on the sight of that axe.

"It's useless!" Kurumi was about to use another one of her time powers as she raised her guns to her angel of time, Zafkiel. Kotori took one swing and unleashed a flaming projectile. It instantly turned the Kurumi clones to ash. She took another downward swing and dispelled of the Kurumi clones pinning all the victims. Mario, Rabbid Peach, Tohka, and Origami fell to the ground. Shido only stood upright. He caught a bit of his breath when Kotori landed in front of him.

"Kotori!" Shido shouted. "That's...!"

Kotori turned to Shido with a serious look. "Stay put, Shido. Right now, you'd die instantly."

Kurumi giggled as everyone turned to her. Thankfully, Mario recovered. "I truly hope that you did not believe that this was all I had in store for you!" She aimed her guns at Zafkiel behind her and shadows formed around the '1' again. She fired at her own head. Kotori braced herself and blocked an incoming strike from an above Kurumi. She jumped back when Kurumi fired her gun.

"Wonderful! Just splendid!" Kurumi cackled while swinging her arms and firing bullets. "I would expect less from the first Spirit that was subdued by humans! This is great! This is amazing!"

"You're annoying. You need to chill out a little." Kotori said, despite her literally being a flame Spirit. She swung her axe straight down, in which Kurumi jumped back.

"In that case, allow me to follow your suggestion, and take it slow!" Zafkiel emerged again. "Zafkiel! Zayin!" She fired shots at Kotori.

"Kotori!" Shido yelled, still sitting down. "Watch out! That's-"

Kotori was instantly frozen in time. Just like Mana was.

"It does not matter what power you have if you are frozen in place." Clones of Kurumi emerged from the shadows as they surrounded Kotori, and they fired their guns. Blood was squirting out of Kotori despite her being frozen in time. The real Kurumi aimed her gun at Kotori's forehead. "Fare thee well." She fired, as Shido and Mario quickened their breath. She cackled as Kotori laid lifeless. "Oh my, it looks like I'm through with you already!" She spoke to the lifeless Kotori. "What a shame? I fight a strong being like you once in a blue moon!"

Mario felt like he heard THAT before.

"Well, I suppose you two are next. Shido. Mario. I..." Kurumi stopped when she heard flames. Blue flames were healing Kotori's body, just like Shido does when he dies.

"Geez, you really know how to run that mouth of yours." Kotori stood upright once more, just like Mario just helping Rabbid Peach get up. They all looked at Kurumi. "I'd much prefer you being overwhelemed by fear, having just lost your will to fight."

Kurumi huffed and went into a sassy position. "You WILL know your place soon enough! Aleph!" Zafkiel appeared again as she fired at.. the Kurumi clones. They all disappeared to combine into one ultimate power. The real Kurumi then shot herself.

"Damn it." Kotori cursed. Kotori ran at top speed towards Shido, who was starting to get ganged up by two Kurumi clones. Shido quickly got knocked back.

"Shido!" Mario cried.

"What are you doing?!" Shido shouted.

"Tearing her to pieces! Camael!" Kotori shouted after being ganged up by several clones of Kurumi. Clones got quickly scattered via flames. The real Kurumi ducked for cover.

"Just what the hell is with you? Zafkiel! Dalet!" Kurumi screamed. While she was doing her time spell, a clone came up to Mario and Rabbid Peach.

"Yeah! Show us what you got!" Mario was now more determined than ever to stop Kurumi, and Rabbid Peach already pulled out her Blaster. At once, they both fired at the Kurumi clone. The clone dodged, sadly. But that didn't mean that Mario didn't run up to Kurumi Clone and uppercutted her in the gut. Rabbid Peach was impressed, to say the least, as she fired a shot at the Kurumi clone and it disappeared. "We're ready for more, Kurumi!"

Kurumi was recharging herself with Dalet to heal the wounds. She just stood like a puppet.

"Is that all you got?" Kotori taunted. "You can start getting serious at any time now."

"I shall make you regret ever uttering those words!" Kurumi's eyes twitched, ready for battle. "ZAAAAAAFKIIIIIEEEEEELLLL!" She screamed.

"As if I'd let you do that!" She started a swing of the axe when Kotori suddenly stopped by a mild... snap. "Oh no..."

"Kotori!" Shido yelled. Mario and Rabbid Peach were still dispelling clone after clone.

"Aaahahahahaha!" Kurumi got up as she pointed her gun at Kotori. "Your time is up, I'm afraid!"

"Kotori!" Shido waddled to Kotori. "Are you okay?!"

Kotori raised her head, as her eyes were glowing now. "Camael! MEGIDDO!"

Mario and Rabbid Peach physically gasped on what they are seeing. The axe lost it's sharp edges, as it raised up and became a giant cannon. The cannon was used to obliterate Mario before back in the Mushroom Kingdom, and now it was back with a thirst for Kurumi blood.

Kurumi was starting to panic. "My temporal selves!" The Kurumi Clones retreated from fighting Mario and went to guard the real Kurumi.

"Turn them to ashes, Camael!" The cannon fired at once and Shido & Mario blocked their eyes. This prevented them from witnessing the mass genocide of Kurumi Clones and tearing a hole through Zafkiel itself. Kurumi went limp as if to surrender.

"Pick up your gun." Kotori commanded as Shido & Mario turned to Kotori. "This battle isn't over yet. This battle hasn't concluded yet. Let's keep fighting to the DEATH, Kurumi. Enjoy the fight you desired! The battle you longed for!" Kurumi still wasn't responding as Kotori's eyes still glew a bright red. "If you can no longer raise a gun, you should just die."

"Kotori!" Shido interrupted. "She really will die if you keep this up!" He ran up to Kotori. "Ratatoskr said to resolve issues about Spirits without killing them, is that not true?!" Shido stepped back as Kotori ultimately ignored her big brother as flames went into the cannon. "Hey! Kotori!" Shido turned to Kotori's face. She was GRINNING. Her grin and eyes widened. Shido was horrified. He had to do something. Mario already had the right idea as he was running towards Kurumi to get her out of the way.

"Kurumi!" Shido yelled as he ran towards Kurumi and held his arms out as if he were a shield for Kurumi.

"Shido.. Mario... Don't... please..." Mario couldn't budge Zafkiel so he acted as a secondary shield.

"We'll be-a fine, Kurumi. I jump in lava a lot! No biggie!" Mario's smile was innocent, but on the inside, he was scared too. Rabbid Peach was panicking too much to do anything, as she just tried to help Tohka and Origami recover.

Mario looked at the cannon of Megiddo. He was reminded of Bowser. Those horns on Kotori reminded him of Bowser. The red eyes and grin reminded him of Bowser. Eventually..

Kotori's eyes stopped glowing. It was too late, however. The cannon fired towards Mario & Shido. "BIG BROTHER! MARIO! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" She screamed.

Mario bid his farewell to his adventures... or did he? Thankfully, SOMEONE saved Mario. He was quickly knocked out of the way of Megiddo. The last thing before Mario hit his head on the roof of the school and blacked out was green.

But all Shido saw was red.

* * *

_The red reminded him of that time. Kotori was crying in a circle of flame over the body of Shido, laying down and bruised. "Big brother! Wake up! Please! Big brother!"_

_Shido couldn't as his eyes closed once more._

* * *

"Would you like me to operate?" An annoying doll voice came from Shido's unconsciousness.

"Y-yes please.. thank you doctor..." A shy voice followed.

Shido's eyes opened to Yoshinon in his face. "Not to worry! You can count on me!"

Shido's eyes turned to Yoshino as she gasped. "G-good morning... Sorry.. I was playing doctor..."

"Ah... it's fine." Yoshino felt relieved to hear this from Shido and left the sick bay. Shido turned his eyes to Tohka, also sitting down. She quickly fell asleep, her head slamming on the bed which jolted Shido up. "Tohka's here?"

"Shido... soy bun..." Tohka said, mumbling and half asleep.

He smiled and then pondered. "Why am I in the sick bay?"

"You've gained consciousness, Shin." In came Reine who parted the curtains. "I wish I could say the same about your friend." She gestured to Mario.

...and as if it were a miracle, Mario's head jolted up too. "What happened...?"

"Ah. Mario's awake." Reine said, not changing tone.

"You really surprised me!" Yoshinon was peeking from the curtain. "You woke up so suddenly!"

Yoshino appeared shortly after. "Sorry for startling you."

"Don't sweat it." He turned to Reine. "Reine, what am I doing here?"

"Following yesterday's battle with Kurumi, you were transported here while unconscious."

"And what about-a me?" Mario coughed from the distance. Shido & Reine turned. Reine continued.

"Mario, you fell unconscious too. Luckily, a man helped you flee the battle before you turned to ash."

"...?" Reine commanded the 'man' to come inside. When Mario looked at the 'man', he felt like he could cry of happiness. There, beside Reine, was a slightly taller version of Mario. He wore green, had a cap supporting an 'L' emblem, green shirt, blue overalls, a mustache, blue eyes...

"LUIGI?!" Mario couldn't believe it!

"Marioooo!" Luigi yelled. He ran up and yanked Mario out of his bed and hugged him tightly. Mario hugged him too, embracing Luigi.

"There, there, bro. I'm-a safe." Mario patted Luigi on the back. "I was so worried about-a you!"

"I was worried too bro!" Luigi had tears in his eyes. "Don't laugh at me for this, but I was so scared without you!"

"I was scared-a too, Luigi. You're okay and that's all that matters."

"What happened after the battle?" Shido asked Reine while the brothers were having their reunion. "Tohka's asleep, right?!" Shido's paranoia kicked into overdrive. "What about Kotori? Why did she look like that? And Origami-?!"

"Calm down, Shin." Reine blatenly replied.

"Mana's okay, right? And Kurumi, she's alive, right?!" He kept shouting and shouting. "And the entire student school as well, right-?!" It didn't take long for Reine to bring Shido's head to her... chest. Yoshino and Luigi quickly covered their eyes to avoid shattering their innocence.

"There there. Are you calmed down yet?" Reine said, petting Shido. She released him and Shido gasped for air. He just couldn't fine the words. "Don't worry. Everyone's all right. As far as I know, there were no casualties. Origami and Mana were taken away. They were probably transported to SDF Tengu Hospital. Kurumi somehow managed to escape. Tohka is, as you can see, she was hurt herself but insisted on staying by your side instead. She must've fallen asleep from exhaustion."

"Hey, whoever you just said, she sticks by you!" Luigi added in his own comment. "Just like my bro bounces! When my bro bounces, I bounce too!"

Shido turned to Luigi. "Um, sorry, who are you exactly?"

"Oh, right." Luigi sighed. He got pretty used to not being known. "So hey, I'm Luigi! I'm my bro's bro! Nice to meet you!"

"...something about you seems familiar." Shido pondered.

"Oh, uh, have we met before? I don't think so. I did wake up at the same school where I saved Mario. Maybe you saw me? No, then again, you would've called me out..."

Shido sighed and looked downwards as Luigi continued on. "So it's not over yet?"

Reine, who was still there, confirmed this. "That is correct."

Shido tilted his head to Reine. "Where's Kotori?"

* * *

At once, Reine got Shido out of the bed and led him to the place where Kotori was kept. In the sick bay still was Mario, Luigi, Tohka & Yoshino.

"Mario..." Luigi got serious. "Who WAS that girl? Those flaming weapons were the same as Bowser's!"

"That was-a Kotori, the flame Spirit. She has Camael too, I-a think." Mario tried to guess.

"Have you seen the princess or Yoshi?"

"No.. Not-a yet." Mario sighed, then he turned to Luigi. "But I did make-a some new friends."

"Really?" Luigi was interested. "Who?"

"Well, for-a starters, there's Tohka over-a there, she loves food!" Mario pointed to Tohka. "Perhaps, even more than-a me! But not spaghetti. I love my spaghetti." Mario was stern. He then let go of that expression and turned to the quivering Yoshino. "That-a there is Yoshino and her bunny puppet Yoshinon! The former is-a very shy and the latter is-a very energetic! How does she split her-a personality that easily?" Mario pondered. "And Shido is the man who just-a left. His job is to seal all the Spirits."

"Ah. Okay. I gotcha. Say, I ran into Blue Toad and Yellow Toad in this wo-"

"They told-a me."

Luigi stopped his sentence to hear Mario's, and he was quite shocked. "You have?! Wow, so they did find you! That's a relief!" Luigi wiped sweat off his forehead.

"Yeah. It's-a not the end though." Mario looked forward into nothingness.

"Yeah."

* * *

Meanwhile with Shido & Reine, they were observing Kotori in a small room aboard the Fraxinus. "She can't see or hear us in there." Reine warned Shido. "You're on your own from here on out."

Shido took note of that warning and walked through the automatically opening glass door. Well, not really glass anymore. From the inside, it was a regular wall. In there was Kotori, sipping tea. "Ah, Shido. I see you finally woke up." She chatted as Shido approached a seat in the opposite direction of her.

"Yeah." He pushed the seat out and then took his seat. He glared at Kotori with furrowed eyebrows. He had to get the truth out of her. "Who exactly are you?"

"Your cute little sister." Kotori beamed.

"Who calls themselves cute like that?" Shido chuckled, knowing that at least someone was enjoying the path to destruction.

"But I am, aren't I?" Kotori still beamed, leaning her fist on her chin.

Shido mentally sighed. "I can't deny it." Back into serious mode. "Kotori, are you a Spirit?" It didn't take long for Kotori's expression to match Shido. Angry, unamused, and furrowed eyebrows. The mental staredown competition engaged between the two. All Reine could do was watch.

"Would you believe me if I said I wasn't?" Kotori said, after a long period of uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah. I'll believe you if you say so."

"Are you nuts?" Kotori said, sadly looking at her tea. "You would rather trust what other people say instead of trusting your own eyes? That's something a smart person... would not do." She drank her tea again.

"If I didn't trust my little sister's words," Shido started. "I might be doing what is reasonable as a _person_ , but I'd be a horrible brother." He smiled.

Kotori decided to tell Shido. "I'm human. Or at least, I intended to be one. However, the sensors over there indicate that I'm a Spirit now."

"What's going on?" Shido asked.

"I was a human born into the Itsuka family. That much is certain. But five years ago, I became a Spirit." Shido gasped at this. "Or perhaps a human who can weild Spirit powers would be more accurate."

"Is that even possible?" Shido suddenly remembered. Recollection flashed in his eyes. _Flames everywhere. He saw Kotori crying._ "Don't call me crazy, but I knew about that."

"What? But you didn't know anything until now?" Kotori was shocked to hear THIS news.

"No.." Shido clenched his head as he leaned on the table. "Earlier, I saw the details in a dream..." _He was running towards Kotori, flames everywhere, circling Shido, ensuring to consume him alive. Despite this, he kept running to his little sister. "Kotori! Kotori!"_

_"Big brother!" Kotori cried back. "Stay away!" But it was too late. Flames hit Shido as he got knocked back. Kotori cried, crawling towards her unconscious brother. "Big brother... Big brother!" She cried and cried._

Kotori stood up after hearing the story. "I still have doubts whether I was crying for you like a big baby, but for the most part, your account matches what I remember. Some of our memories were probably shared through the Path when I reclaimed my Spirit Powers."

"I see." Shido understood as Kotori walked towards a wall and stopped. "Kotori, what happened back then? How did you become a Spirit?"

"I wish I could tell you," She leaned on the wall and folded her arms. "But truth to be told, I don't have much memory of it. I vaguely know that SOMETHING happened, but I just can't remember the details. I remember about turning into a Spirit, but nothing about what triggered it."

"How could you forget something so important?" Shido asked softly.

"This is coming from the brother who forgot that his sister had been turned into a Spirit... but you're absolutely right. It was an event that twisted my very identity. There's no way I could forget it just like that. Maybe someone erased both of our memories? Well, that is a possibility. Eventually, Ratatoskr found me. I found out what was going on behind the scenes and decided I wanted to help the Spirits."

"But you lived normally after that fire, didn't you?" Shido asked, taking it all in. Meanwhile this conversation took place, Tohka had just awoken from her nap. She saw Shido... gone. She instantly got up and headed for the door. "What happened to your Spirit powers?" Shido asked. Tohka was asking Yoshino, Mario & Luigi where Shido went, and they all told her the correct direction. She ran off. Hopefully she makes it, despite their directions.

"You sealed my powers." Kotori answered.

"I did?"

"Yeah, don't you remember what I said yesterday?" Shido remembered. _"I'll have your back for a while, Shido."_ That's right. "I don't know why or how, but you had the power to seal the power of Spirits away. That's why Ratatoskr chose you to act as a guidance for the Spirits."

"Then, does that mean my regeneration ability when I die-"

"It was originally mine." Kotori suddenly pointed down. "By the way, Shido, come over here now."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because I said so." Shido fell for it. As soon as he got up from his chair, his stomach had gotten a massive impact, mainly from Kotori's fist. Reine just slightly opened her mouth at the scene, not gasping at all. Shido fell to the floor, clencing his stomach. "I told you to be careful, didn't I?! At the moment, you are extremely vulnerable! Are you insane? You were fortunate that I regained consciousness and deflected the blast!"

"You... regained consciousness?" Shido asked, looking up at Kotori while still in pain. Kotori realised she spilled the beans. Shido slowly got up from his pain. "I knew you weren't yourself."

"Yeah.." Kotori started to shudder. "When I get my Spirit powers back, I lose control over them after a short while. I just feel the overwhelming urge to destroy... or to kill." Kotori stared at her trembling hands. "It scares me. I don't know what I'll end up doing." She clenched her fists as she tried to fight the pain. "I might've done something terrible five years ago too! What if I killed someone?!"

"Kotori!" Shido yelled. Kotori gasped as she got too carried away as Shido stepped closer to his little sister.

"Forget that... I said something out of character. I might've returned to my senses yesterday because you and and Mario stood in front of Kurumi. I'm kinda grateful for you two."

"Won't your Spirit powers return to me?"

"Unlike Tohka, I have pretty much drawn out all of my power. It won't happen naturally." Kotori grabbed her cup again. "It needs to be sealed again."

"Sealed?"

"It's no different from what you did with Tohka and Yoshino. You must make me go on a date with you, make me open up to you and..." Shido blushed upon what he needed to do. Kotori was worse. She dropped her cup as she collapsed on the floor. Shido ran for her.

"Kotori! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine..." Kotori was struggling. "Don't worry about me."

"B-but..." At that point, Reine came into the room, leaned down and looked at Kotori and Shido.

"Shin, that's enough for today. Leave the rest to me."

"Reine..."

"We need to talk outside. Come, now."

"I understand."

* * *

Finally, Mario, Luigi & Tohka were running down the halls of Fraxinus. Tohka's bird-eye view caught Shido around a corner. "Shido! There you are! I was so worried since you just disappeared!" She was still too innocent.

Luigi sighed. "I believe that's called... walking?"

"Who-a knows? Maybe Shido DID-a teleport!" Mario added to the spooky factor.

"Mario!" Luigi shouted. "You saw Shido walk with your own two optical receptors! Called EYES!"

"Are you all right?" asked Tohka, still beaming. "Does it hurt anywhere?"

"Sorry, you three, but could you all leave me alone right now?" Shido asked, depressed. The three followers suddenly stopped in their tracks.

"Shido..." Tohka silently said.

"What's-a eating him?" Mario asked.

"Hmm... maybe that flame disaster?" Luigi added.

_"Two more days." Reine's voice sounded through Shido's head. "Kotori can only endure her own Spirit power for approximately two more days."_

_"What do you mean?!" Shido yelled._

_"Once that time passes, she might cease to be the Kotori you know. Two days from now, on June 11th, you will go on a date with her. This will be our last chance to return her to normal."_

_Shido sighed. The truth had to be told._

* * *

Shido was also standing in front of a reception desk of a hospital.

"I'm terribly sorry." The receptionist apologised. "But not even her own family is allowed to see Takamiya Mana."

"Is her condition that grave?" Shido asked calmly but nervously.

"I'm sorry, but we've been ordered not to give out any information either.

"No way..."

A girl in a hospital gown came in, and she sported short white hair. This was Shido's classmate, Origami. "Shido." She said with no emotion, catching Shido off guard for like a whole second.

"Origami?" Shido then walked to Origami, who was using a wheel stand to support herself.

"I'm glad to see you're alright. How is Tohka?"

"Ah, she's fine as well."

"Dammit." Origami silently cursed.

"Pardon?" Oblivious Shido was not fortunate enough to hear the monotone girl cuss upon his ears.

"Never mind."

Next scene, they were in a hallway in the hospital. "I see. So you came to see Mana."

"Yeah, but they wouldn't let me." Shido and Origami were sitting on a hospital bed together. The sun was setting and orange filled the room. Something about this seemed real familiar but Shido couldn't quite place it.

"I can't tell you the details, but they're using highly classified equipment for her treatment. No one may see her until she's moved to the common ward. You'll get arrested if you try to break in. Is that the only reason you're here?" Shido snapped out of his thought process and turned to Origami who aksed the question. "You only came to see Mana?"

"O-of course I came to see you too!"

"I see." Origami narrowed her eyes.

Shido quickly stood up. "Well, it seems like this is gonna take some thorough planning. You should also hurry and get some rest in your room! Later!" Shido waved Origami off and quickly speedwalked down the corridor to get out of there as quick as possible. He was making good progress when he heard a thud on the floor that made him stop. He turned to Origami, who was now laying on the floor. "O-Origami!" He speedwalked back to Origami and lifted her up. "Are you okay?"

She tilted her head to Shido. "I don't think I'll be able to return to my room by myself. Help me."

"Excuse me?"

"Help me." Origami repeated.

"Okay..." Shido caved in. "Can you walk?"

"Not really."

"Then I'll get a wheelchair for you." Shido was about to walk off again when the back of his shirt was tightly gripped by Origami.

"I don't want a wheelchair. I'd only get motion sickness."

"Then what should I do?"

"Carry me."

"Come again?" Shido was now very concerned about Origami's behaviour.

"Carry me." Origami repeated, narrowing her eyes.

Shido was just dumbfounded, staring at her for a few seconds. "...right." It didn't take long for Shido to walk Origami down by giving her a piggy-back ride. It looked very awkward and Origami was not helping. "Origami, don't you think you're holding on a bit too tight?"

"Not at all." Origami clinged onto Shido tighter, and from there, Shido could feel something _soft_ press on his back. To prevent any conclusions, he asked Origami.

"You're in Room 305 of the west building, right?" Shido asked, while his cheeks were going slightly red. Origami didn't answer as she kept... grabbing on to Shido. "Th-that tickles! Hey! Stop!"

"Really?" Origami asked quietly.

The elevator ride seemed a lot longer than it was.

"Origami...?" Shido asked. Origami was being weird again. All that was heard from the elevator was heavy breathing. "H-hey.. Listen to me..." Shido stopped cold when he felt a lick. "Huh? What's happening to me here?!" As soon as the elevator arrived, he made a beeline to Room 305 and set Origami down on her bed. "I think I'd better be going now!" But Origami STILL wasn't done. Shido gulped as a knife was directly in front of his face.

"Peel it." Origami was also holding an apple.

"Okay..." And thus, the apple was peeled. He presented the pieces to Origami on a plate.

"Feed me." Origami requested.

"Come on, you can do THAT yourself."

"I was told to avoid strenuous physical activity."

He sighed as he brough an apple peel to in front of Origami.

"Put it in my mouth if-"

"OKAY!" Shido shoved the apple peel right into Origami's mouth mid-sentence, catching her off guard. For once, she looked shocked. Shido smirked. His smirk quickly faded when Origami pulled Shido's hand and started sucking on it to get all of the quality of the apple. Now he was just more confused. "H-Wha-Origami?! Hey! ORIGAMI! St-stop that!" After Origami was done with her... 'treat', she let go.

"Thanks."

"W-was that enough?! I really do have to head back!"

Origami pulled out a thermometer. "My temperature needs to be measured. I can't do it myself. I was told to avoid strenuous physical activity-"

"I get it!"

Shido was the one sitting down and Origami was.. sitting on Shido's lap. "Why am I the one sitting down to measure your temperature?" However, Origami got a little too close. "Origami, what're you doing?!"

"When Kurumi transferred to our school, her every action managed to turn you on." Origami departed her hospital robes for a bit revealing... something. You probably know. I'm not saying it, heck you. "I judged that taking the dominant position would be most effective."

A long time had passed. It felt like eternity, but the sunset made the room red. "I'm really leaving this time."

"Just one more thing." Origami STILL wasn't done. Shido turned to Origami, who was looking down. "Tell me what happened after we fought Kurumi yesterday. If I'm not mistaken, another Spirit appeared. Her Spiritual Armor reminded me of someone, and that person could control fire. I lost consciousness because of what Kurumi did to me. Tell me if you noticed something about that Flame Spirit. It doesn't matter if the detail is minimum."

"W-well, I passed out soon after you did... so I don't know the details either."

"I see."

"What about that Spirit?"

"Five years ago, she started the inferno in Tengu City. My parents were burned to ash before my very eyes. That culprit is the same Spirit who controls fire. I've been looking for her all this time. I have always been looking for her. I finally found her. At long last. I'm going to kill her. I'm going to kill her, no matter what. I will do it myself. My 5 years in training has led up to this. For the sake of this moment, I joined the AST. I acquired a Realizer. I have learned several skills and abilities. All of this, to defeat the culprit. I will have my revenge against the Spirit of fire. All of this... to kill Efreet."

Shido couldn't believe the 'war cry' that Origami came up with.

* * *

Mario rang the doorbell to the Spirit Mansion next to the Itsuka residence.

"Aaah, I'm here!" Blue Toad answered. "Oh, hey Mario! Been quite a bit."

"Yeah. Super sorry about-a that. We had some issues. We're-a fine though." Mario was happy to see his pals still waiting for him.

"We?" Blue Toad noticed Mario's statement. "Why, who el-"

"Heeeey hooo!" Luigi called out, peeking from a corner. Blue Toad's eyes shrunk upon his reveal.

"Hey, it's Luigi!" He screamed.

In came Yellow Toad, rushing in. "Did you just say Luigi?"

"Yeah... It's-a-me! Luigi!" Luigi imitated Mario. He went inside while everyone was emotional to reunite with him. He then noticed two newcomers that he never saw.

"Bwoh?" Rabbid Peach turned, still half-looking at her phone. When she came into eye contact with Luigi, her smile simply grew... and went right back to texting.

"Still the same as always." Luigi sighed. He was then hugged by a giant ape figure. "Hey, I recognise this hulking figure!" Luigi was half-scared and then looked up to see who was hugging him.

"Grah heeeey!" It was Donkey Kong!

"Heeey! DK!" Luigi fist bumped Donkey Kong. Luigi was about to turn the corner when someone ran smack into him and hugged his leg.

"BWAAAAAAH!" In came his Rabbid counterpart, Rabbid Luigi!

"Rabbid me! Been a while!" They did a little dance. They looked nothing alike, except for the trademark hat and the green, but something about their relationship just works.

"...Okay guys..." Mario caved in. "Bring it-a in." Everyone went for a group reunion hug.

Mario, Rabbid Luigi, Rabbid Peach, Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, Donkey Kong and Luigi.

For once, everyone was happy.


	14. Countdown to Destruction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The longest chapter thus far, Mario sets out to stop the Flame Spirit.

The setting sun was settling down into the sunset-filled Tengu City. Trains were passing by, Shido was walking, everything seemed normal.

Except it was not. He was thinking about what Origami said back then. Five years ago, her parents were incinerated by the Tengu Fire. All thanks to the flame Spirit. Kotori can't control her own powers, and now both girls are scared. Shido remembered Mario looking a bit scared when facing Efreet too. Everyone at once was in peril.

"Nobody has any connection to what really happened." Shido thought to himself. "Saving Kotori is something only I can do."

* * *

"Aren't you a bit glad? After all, you'll be discharged tomorrow." Ryouko was talking to Origami while she was still in the hospital bed. "You can take it easy for one more day. I heard school was closed anyway. You should relax once in a while." She then took off.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, I almost forgot." Ryouko turned to Origami. "Some top-of-the-line equipment will be delivered to the base two days from now. Because it's not something you can see every day, look forward to it."

* * *

"The Ocean Park? That theme park with a ton of pools?" Shido was planning with Reine and Kannazuki about the date with Kotori.

"That is correct." Reine confirmed. "Everyone at headquarters agreed that it's the venue most likely to make your date with Kotori a success."

"Indeed!" Kannazuki half-shouted. "The image of the commander's innocent and racy figure glimmering in a swimsuit is something that can only be burnt into our eyes during this time of the year and at that wonderful place!"

Shido just.. gave Kannazuki the death stare. "Could you please keep that to yourself?"

Reine coughed. "There is still one more thing, Shin: I have organized a training session for you."

"A training session? Count me in! In order to save Kotori, I'll do anything!"

Reine just nodded at this. Shido would probably take back those words very soon.

* * *

"Aaah.. ha ha.." Mario felt warmth. All the Mario characters were inside the Itsuka residence.

"Alright, Mario, give us the scoop." Blue Toad's voice lowered. "How bad is it?"

"Really, really bad. We should be fine. With Luigi and-a you guys... We might be able to barely survive."

"Barely is an understatement." Yellow Toad whispered.

Mario put his hands on a table. "Okay, so our commander, Kotori-a Itsuka, is revealed to be a Spirit of-a Flame. That same Spirit is also inside-a Bowser. If we seal-a Kotori, we might be able to stand a chance against-a Bowser." Mario laid out his plans carefully. "Reine?" Mario tapped his earpiece.

"I heard." Reine tuned in. "Kotori's date will be in Ocean Park. Although I have doubts about Origami Tobiichi appearing due to her condition, you may have to attend the date regardless. You can never leave it to chance."

"Ah. Okay. Should I-a bring everyone to the park?" Mario questioned.

"I'd prefer if you'd bring one other person. It could get suspicious with otherworldly beings overtaking the park. I'd advise taking one that's most human. Like your brother." Reine commented while Mario turned to Luigi.

Blue Toad was defeated. "Fine, I guess. But what are me, Yellow Toad, Donkey Kong and the Rabbids all gonna do? We still haven't fixed that TV in the Spirit Mansion!"

Mario sighed. "You and Yellow Toad go-a out to get a replacement TV. Bring Donkey Kong to-a carry it. Don't bring Donkey Kong into-a the shop, though. That could spell-a disaster." He said as he ran out the residence with Luigi.

"O-okay, Mario! I guess we'll catch up with you later!" Luigi called back.

"We'll see ya, then!" Yellow Toad waved them off with the Rabbids looking disappointed that they haven't gotten a job.

* * *

Shido definitely took back those words he said about doing anything to save Kotori. His current location with Tohka and Yoshino was a swimsuit shop of all places. Everyone was gawking at the scene except for Shido who just wanted to die inside.

"...how can buying swimsuits with the two of them be considered training?" Shido only know questioned his own judgement.

"You need to be comfortable with seeing girls in swimsuits." Reine blatently replied. "It'd be disastrous if your mind were to wander while you're on the date with Kotori."

"K-Kotori's life is on the line here! I'd never do such a thing!"

And he did such a thing. Within 3 seconds of turning his eyes, he saw a woman in swimwear. Reine decided to remind him. "Did you forget your heart rate is being monitored? You're gawking right now."

"I-I'll do my best!" Shido stood upright.

"Excellent."

Tohka turned to Shido in delight. "This is amazing, Shido! Are all of these things swimsuits?!" Tohka pointed to a swimsuit while Yoshino was fiddling around with one. Seems like Shido already knew that this episode was gonna be the fanservice episode. He's in for a rough time.

"Y-yeah.."

"Then what on earth is this thing, Shido?"

"You don't know? It's-"

Origami randomly walked in. "Military Zapped Ultimate Grind Instrument. MIZUGI, the Japanese term for swimsuit. It's a new model of anti-Spirit combat equipment. Immediately upon activation, the embedded Realizers display their striking potency through the releasing of projectiles that had been compressed to the molecular level which can easily pierce through the armor of Spirits and disintegrate their bodily tissues beyond the point of regeneration."

The two Spirits gasped, while Shido was just protesting. "Origami?!"

Origami turned to Yoshino. "As I suspected. Hermit." Yoshino instantly cowared and clinged behind Tohka.

"Damn you!" Tohka said. "What are you doing here? Shido, is what she just said true?"

"How could it-" Shido was interrupted by Origami.

"It's true. Even with complete awareness of MIZUGI's existence, he brought the two of you here. I'm sure he was planning to strike after luring you into a false sense of security."

"Don't lie! Shido would never do something like that!"

"I-I don't think he would either." Yoshino quietly piped up.

"Isn't that right, Shido?" Tohka turned to Shido.

But he didn't even get to answer. Origami went above and beyond to imitate Shido's voice. "No. It's just as Origami says. I've been planning to kill you for a while now."

Tohka is gullible, soooo she fell for it. "W-what are you saying, Shido?!"

"How can you fall for that?" Shido turned to Tohka.

The sudden realisation hit her as she turned angrily to Origami. "You're a sly little fox, Origami! Were you making fun of me?!"

Origami was still talking in a flat tone. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Shido sighed. "Still, it's such a coincidence that we run into each other here of all places. How are your injuries?"

"I'm fine." Origami replied. "However, it was no coincidence." The security camera sparkled in the distance. "I'm happy to see you, Shido, but today I have business with Tohka."

"What?" Tohka felt a heavy weight all of a sudden.

"Do you remember the Spirit of flames that appeared out of the sky yesterday?" At least the sky wasn't falling. "You must have seen that Spirit. Tell me what you remember."

Tohka pouted, huffed, crossed her arms, and looked the other way. "I wouldn't tell you even if I knew anything!"

Origami clasped her own hands together in a prayer-like manner, and put them to the side of her cheek in a cutesy manner, and tilted her head to one side in an innocent matter. "Please."

Tohka and Shido gasped at Origami's technique. Tohka tried to retaliate. "S-stop that! What do you want?"

"I want you to tell me about the Spirit of flames. Please." Origami then bowed slightly which would most certainly break Tohka.

"Okay! I'll tell you, so just raise your head! It's so damn creepy! The Spirit of flames... Yes, she really was there. She was... She was red." Great job, Tohka. Society benefits from her.

"And?"

"And... uh... She was... powerful."

"Is that all?"

"..." Tohka turned to her last resort. "And she was all like WHOOOSH!"

"You're useless." Origami said the harsh truth.

"Wh-what?!" Tohka tried to get at Origami, but the Yoshino Shield stopped Tohka. "I was nice enough to help you! What's with that attitude?!"

"By the way, Shido. I only have the swimsuit for the P.E. Class. I'd stand out like a sore thumb if I had to go either to the pool or beach wearing it."

"Oh, well, yeah..." Shido was just lost. Why wouldn't he be? He has harem time and now it's gonna be the beach episode. Sort of. "Since we're already in a swimsuit shop, why don't you go buy one?"

"The opinions of one's peers are important when picking out swimsuits. Feedback from males are especially important."

"Pardon?"

"I need feedback from a male." Origami looked Shido dead in the eyes to let him KNOW that she was serious.

"Um..."

"I need it."

Shido caved in. Again. It's like a habit. "I-I can tell you what I think.."

Tohka gasped, and thus began the Western Showdown of Tohka and Origami. All for Shido. Shido was definitely in for an unfortunate experience. It's his job, so he'll have to get used to it. Unlucky him. Tohka pointed at Origami. "Got it, Tobiichi Origami? Whoever turns Shido on more gets the right to go on a date with him!"

"The result is inevitable. I will never give you a chance to go on a date with him." Origami still said in a blank tone.

Shido just turned his head a little and communicated with Reine. "Why did this turn into such a battle?"

Reine seemed not concerned. "Just go with it. It'll be good training for you."

Just then, three girls came in. A group of gossipers. Shido knew them well. Ai, Mai and Mii.

"Huh? Is that Itsuka?"

"What're you doing in a girl's swimsuit shop?"

"That's so lame..."

"I-" Shido couldn't retaliate. He had to stare in detail. Full detail. The three gossipers were also in swimsuits. "And so the day begins."

The three gossipers continued.

"Whatever."

"Let's just pick some other ones. We could try the school swimsuits."

"This is so lame..."

Reine was looking at Shido's stats. "Shin. I saw your heart rate peak. The date is theirs at this point."

"Don't even joke about that!" Shido was half-serious.

Just then, the door to the swimsuit shop opened with a thud. Shido turned to it and FINALLY he saw some sane people. Well, they weren't exactly human, it was just the famous plumber duo. Mario and Luigi! They both looked around the shop.

"Mama-mia, I think this is-a the wrong store! It's all girls' wear!" Mario looked around the shop, sudden bad thoughts filling his head. He turned to Luigi who instantly figured it out.

"If this is the wrong shop, bro, then why is Shido here?" Luigi pointed to Shido. Shido waved.

"Ah, hey, Mario, Luigi. Glad to see you're still doing well."

Mario pointed slightly at Shido's face. "Why does-a your face look like a tomato right-a now?"

Shido turned even more red at Mario's remark. "S-shut up! I'm in a tight spot here! Can you PLEASE stay with me so this doesn't have to be AS embarrassing?!"

Luigi was just confused. "What do you mean embarrassing?"

At that point, the curtain to their left opened. It was Tohka. "Here I am, Shido!" Out came Tohka, wearing a white swimsuit. Luigi kinda got the point and also turned red. Mario realised everyone was in for a rough time. "Oh! Mario! Green guy!"

"Luigi."

"Hello!" Tohka then realised her current outfit and went back to being nearly as embarrassed as Luigi was.

Kannazuki, however, was enjoying this to the full. "Now that's WONDERFUL! The simple design emphasises Tohka's true beauty! It's an exciting choice!"

"H-how is it.. you three?" Shido was red at Tohka's body while the bros were slightly less red. "D-does it turn you on, Shido?"

"What have you gotten into." Mario might as well have snapped.

Shido tried his best to respond to Tohka. "Um... well... yeah..."

"Thanks! Your words are encouraging!"

The curtain to the right opened. Now there was a bro for each date. Mario for Tohka and Luigi for Origami. Speaking of Origami, she was finished changing. "Shido." They all turned to the right as Origami was shown with a swimsuit more revealing than Tohka's.

"I feel REALLY bad for you, Shido." Luigi patted Shido on the back.

Kannazuki was still fanboying. "Yes! That's it! She's showing off some huge power levels! The dark color of the bikini emphasizes her fairness, and to top it off, she tied her hair up, revealing her slender neck!"

"..Oh. It's the dwarf that always attacks me." Origami said. Mario just sighed. "Shido, what do you thinl?"

"Eh... yeah... that looks good too..." Shido was getting redder and redder. Origami smirked at Shido's comment. Tohka was flailing her arms, however, like a baby.

"Damn you! How about this, Shido?! Mario?!" Shido and Mario turned to Tohka, who was now wearing a similar swimsuit to Origami, except it was more purple. She was naive, and was embarrassed and tried to cover up.

Kannazuki again. "Jackpot! A maiden blessed with a well-proportioned body and a shy personality fiddles with the hearts of men!"

Origami opened her curtain again. Shido and Luigi turned that-a-way now. She was just in a regular shirt now. "Shido."

"What's going on here now?" Kannazuki commentated.

Tohka was boasting, on the other hand. "Have you finally admitted defeat, Origami?" Origami just walked to Shido and took his hand. At first, Shido didn't know what he was getting into, but then he saw that his hand was going for Origami's clothing. Shido panicked a little.

"Raise my skirt."

"What?!" Shido couldn't believe it!

Luigi was panicking too. "Isn't that bending the rules?!"

And so was Tohka. "W-what are you trying to pull here?!" Origami ignored both the green coward and the purple princess and directed Shido's hand to her own skirt. Shido was sweating immensely. Origami then took her own clothing off to reveal a swimsuit.

"And there it is!" Kannazuki continued. "She got him all worked up by hiding it instead of showing it off! The art of teasing, less IS more! The thrill of a peek is unrivalled! Innovation has triumphed!"

Tohka was blushing too. "N-not yet! The battle isn't over yet!"

Just then, a quiet voice managed to be louder than anyone else. It came from a not yet opened curtain. "Shido... Shido... please... help me..." That quiet and tiny voice belonged to Yoshino, who stayed out of the duel. Everyone turned to the curtain.

"Yoshino?!" Shido shouted. "Excuse me, are you okay?!" He opened the curtain without warning, and there was a half-dressed Yoshino, struggling to put on a swimsuit, while getting tangled up in some places.

"I-I can't put it on with only one hand..." Yoshino's eyes were about to water.

Everyone was gawking at the scene, except Origami, because she's basically emotionless. A fanfare played in Shido's ear, similar to his first talk with Tohka. Reine added in her own commentary. "The winner of the date has been decided."

Shido managed to choke on his own spit while the Mario Bros. just judgingly looked at him.

"Crap."

* * *

"Blue, why is everyone giving us weird looks?" Yellow Toad asked, while Donkey Kong was carrying a large box containing the replacement TV needed for the Spirit Mansion since they broke the previous one. And Yellow was right, the people around them were giving them strange and weird looks left, right and center. Blue Toad, on the other hand, was not really bothered by this.

"Well, have you looked at ourselves recently? We kinda... you know..." Blue gave a reply as Yellow looked at Blue and Donkey Kong. They were mushroom people and a giant ape walking together in a world full of humans. "Not fit in?"

"Hey," Yellow Toad was suddenly worried. "I'm worried about the... the princess. She's one to get easily captured." He looked around waringly. "And Bowser still hasn't shown up yet. I'm kinda raising red flags here!"

"When the time comes, we'll deal with it." They were now in front of the Spirit Mansion next to the Itsuka Residence. Turns out the store isn't far from the residence at all. "Alright, DK, Bring it in!"

Donkey Kong did as he told. "Gragh!" He tossed the box (carefully) into the room with the broken TV. He carried the broken TV away and then carried the new TV into the broken TV's original spot. The Toads and DK did a three-way high five.

"Great! Now how do we work it?"

Everyone facepalmed.

* * *

"Never wanna go through that again." Shido was relaxing on Fraxinus with Kannazuki, in which the latter just simply chuckled.

"I had fun doing commentary on it. But you got to ogle girls in swimsuits. I'm sure it was effective training." Shido turned his head to Kannazuki. He never was this serious before.

"Right..." He turned back to his coffee. "I must save Kotori. I can't afford to fail tomorrow." He clenched his coffee cup, which was thankfully empty.

"Hmm..." Mario was laying on the couch next to Shido. Next to Mario was Rabbid Peach and Luigi. "It will be quite a difficult-a task, let me-a tell you."

"Mario's right!" Luigi piped up. "For our future, we cannot let any more flame Spirits win!"

"Speaking of Flame Spirits, I still want to remember what happened five years ago... I don't remember how I sealed her powers back then."

Rabbid Peach just patted the back of the depressed Shido while Kannazuki already had an idea. "I don't know if it will be of any help, but how about watching the video of the fire?"

Shido turned his head. "There's a video?"

* * *

Yellow Toad was thinking it through. "Well, of course, we plug it in the outlet first!"

"No, the cables should be plugged into the TV! The outlet goes first!" Blue Toad and Yellow Toad were arguing about the TV while DK and Rabbid Luigi were just sitting there, arms folded, not amused at all.

"This is why we don't get anywhere!"

* * *

The TV was switched on in the Fraxinus room. Unluckily for the four, the video was of a great massive fire in Tengu City.

"Mama-mia... That's-a basically.." Mario started.

"What Bowser did to our Kingdom..." Luigi finished.

"Bwaaah..." Rabbid Peach just angrily stared at the screen.

The TV showed a reporter in a helicopter, over the fire. "The fire is spreading! I can feel the heat from all the way up here!" Explosions were also occuring, causing the reporter to flinch.

Kannazuki was the only human to comment. "A TV channel filmed this, but Ratatoskr prevented it from going on air. Now, this scene." Kannazuki pressed a button on the remote. There, the scene in front of them, was a flame Spirit and a lying Shido.

"There's Kotori and me." Shido stated the obvious.

"Continuing playback." Kannazuki pressed another button and the scene went by, zoomed in, and slowed down. It seemed that was the true scene. Except some square tiles... or mosaic, or whatever, flashed on screen. That wasn't normal. Mario and Shido gasped.

"Stop!" Shido commanded. The video paused.

"Wh-what's wrong?" Kannazuki was concerned. "There's nothing suspicious there." Apparently, Kannazuki couldn't see the figure.

"Who're you?!" Shido tried to talk to the TV to the figure. It wasn't doing much. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Who are you referring to?"

"Her there!" Shido looked at the figure, and then realised. _"Huh? Why do I know that video noise is SOMEONE?"_

"I've-a-seen this before... I think!" Mario struggled with his head. "My... memory is vague..!"

Flashbacks of Kotori turning into a Spirit rang into Shido's head, and flashbacks of Bowser burning the Mushroom Kingdom rang into Mario's head. Their eyes shook so much that they turned blank. Shido and Mario both went unconscious.

"Shido! Hey, are you okay?!" Kannazuki was worried.

"Mario!" Luigi yelled. Rabbid Peach went to support Mario up.

* * *

"Why don't we get Donkey Kong to do it?"

"He's a monkey, so... it'll work?" The Toads turned to DK.

The Kong, on the other hand, was just... shrugging. He had no idea either.

"Ugh, and just when you think you know a guy!"

* * *

Shido was now in the town square, awaiting the inevitable.

Kannazuki was talking to him over the earpiece. "Sorry, Shido, I did something I shouldn't have when you got back last night."

"It's okay." Shido is such a nice guy. "The footage does bother me, sure, but today I don't have time to worry about it."

"You're right. We'll be here to support you the best we can. Be confident. You're a mighty playboy who's already made a number of Spirits fall for you."

"...thanks." Classic Kannazuki, always making the situation awkward.

Reine added in. "Shin, I beamed Kotori on the surface. She should be there soon. We're counting on you."

"Okay." Shido ended the communcation, and just sighed. He was going to be in for a very rough time, it seemed, and it was barely over. In fact, it just started. He heard footsteps, and those footsteps belonged to someone with coral twin-tailed hair, and black ribbons. "Hey, Kotori." As usual, Kotori was wearing a cute outfit that did not suit her bossy attitude at all.

"Sorry for making you wait." Kotori also sighed. "You see a girl dressed to the nines, and you say nothing? Wasn't that the first thing I taught you?" Back to Tsundere Kotori.

"Yeah. You dressed up just for me?"

"W-well, it is a date, after all. And I'll at least give you a chance to do something." Kotori was slightly blushing. "And it doesn't feel bad to get praised." She quickly got over it and continued walking. "Alright, let's get this date thing started already."

"Y-yeah..."

In came a very high-pitched "Yay!" from a certain puppet. Shido realised and didn't turn. The voice belonged to Yoshinon.

Yoshino just went with a simple "Yeah..."

"I'm looking forward to it!"

Accompanied Yoshino were Tohka, Mario & Luigi.

"Oh boy, going to-a the ocean park sure will be-a nice, eh Luigi?"

"Yeah! It'll be a fun time for everyone involved!" Luigi went along with Mario.

Shido stuttered. "W-what're you doing here?"

Reine lifted her head up from Fraxinus. "Ah, I forgot to mention. They'll be going with you on this date. We decided it'd be best today."

Kotori was all the smug. "You made quite the interesting move, Shido. I'm looking forward to this."

Tohka presented her giant shopping bag. "Look, I even brought the swimsuits we bought yesterday!"

Yoshino silently raised hers. "Me too."

Mario and Luigi raised their bags. "Aah, they're not-a swimsuits, but we're-a still going! They're more like-a uh.. swimming trunks!"

Kotori narrowed her eyes in MORE smug. "Oh my, you sure are kind, Shido."

* * *

"Alright, if nobody can agree, can we just get Rabbid Luigi to do it?" Blue Toad was laying on the couch.

"Yeah, he hasn't tried a thing!" Just then, the door opened, revealing Rabbid Peach, in which she returned from Fraxinus. "Ah, good, Rabbid Peach is here! We're forcing you to help Rabbid Luigi set up the TV!"

"...Bwah?!" She turned to Rabbid Luigi, but he was already hard at work in setting up the TV.

* * *

Shido was dreading this, but Tohka was loving it as her gasps filled the entire ocean park. And what a sight it was. A giant pool surrounded by mountains and palmtrees. Waterfalls entering the giant pool as well as multi-colored slides going all sorts of inner directions. Everyone was now in their swimsuits. This was Shido, Mario, Luigi, Tohka & Yoshino. Tohka was obviously the one to yell. "Amazing! There're mountains and lakes inside the building!"

"S-so much water!" Yoshino quietly shouted.  
"IT'S SO EXCITING!"

"Shido!" Tohka pointed to the wave pool. "Can I go in that lake?"

"Sure."

"Let's go, Yoshino!"

"S-sure!" They both ran off towards the wave pool like total children. Mario just sighed.

"Ah, the joys of-a being young! Well. Hope-a your date with Kotori goes-a well!" He gave a thumbs up.

"Y-yeah... I support you too, Shido!" Luigi jittered. He and Mario then ran off to supervise Tohka and Yoshino.

"They look like they're having fun." Shido turned to the voice. It was his little sister, Kotori, wearing a white swimsuit. She folded her arms and turned to Shido. "What? Got turned on by your little sister?"

"Of course I don't!" Shido bickered back.

"What're you doing, Shin?" Reine said from the communicator. "Shouldn't you give her some praise?"

Shido coughed. "Kotori."

"What?"

"It's just that... bikini looks good on you. I-it's cute."

Kotori was flattered at first, but then fumbled her eyebrows. She went smug again. "Oh, thanks. Did Reine or Kannazuki order you to praise me?"

"Wha-? No! I meant it!" Shido lied, but he had to, in order to seal this Flame Spirit... in an ocean park."

"You flatter me. What exactly about it is cute, then?"

Shido was suddenly presented with a choice of options. He had to make an Absolute Choice.

**1: All of it! You're cute in anything!**

**2: It looks simple but it's very well thought out! You've really got a great fashion sense!**

**3: I can't have enough of your budding breasts...**

"Time to show our skill!" Kannazuki shouted. "All personnel, choose!" At once, every Ratatoskr member around the world chose. "Hmm, this is reasonable result."

Conversations began in Fraxinus. "There's no way saying option 1 would have bad results!"

"Option 2 makes him only care about the clothing."

"Option 3 is out of the question."

"You're right..." He thought long and hard, but then again, he's Kannazuki. "Shido, go with option three!" Everyone in Fraxinus gave Kannazuki a death glare.

"Okay..." Shido prepared himself. "I can't have enough of your budding breasts..."

Kotori blushed and went angry, and covered herself up, of course. "W-what're you even saying?!"

"I just-"

Kannazuki was hit by nearly every object that Fraxinus could hold. "What?! What's wrong?!" He tried to prevent a giant globe from being thrown at him. "What's wrong with budding breasts?!"

"Just shut up!

"We'll send you off to dig up hot springs again!"

Tohka pointed at a giant water slide. "Shido, let's do that!"

"...A water slide, huh?"

"Yeah! It'll be fun if we go together!"

Yoshino quietly stated. "I'll pass. I'd lose Yoshinon again."

"I'll pass too." Kotori normally stated. "I'm no kid."

"You're-a never to old to have an adventure, Kotori." Mario folded his arms.

"Let's go together, then, Shido!" Tohka grabbed Shido's arm and linked her own arm with his, looking like a couple. Shido gave Kotori a look of 'help me'.

"Wait. I'll go too after all."

Reine nodded. "Good job, Tohka. Even if we sent them on a date, I was sure Kotori couldn't let go and have fun."

Meanwhile, on top the slide, Shido was trembling. "I don't mind the slide, but why THIS position?" The position Shido was talking about was Tohka and Kotori basically sandwiching Shido with Kotori in front and Tohka behind him.

"Off we go then!" Tohka yelled. Everyone was now in a death trap. Down they went, with Shido and Kotori screaming in terror, and Tohka screaming in joy. Twists, turns, roundabouts! The position didn't work too well, though. The three passengers fell off the slide early, and came slamming down into the pool. Yoshino was quivering at the sight of what she just saw.

"That-a landing was so unexpected! 10/10!" Mario gave a thumbs up.

"T-too scary... 6/10..." Luigi was shaking too.

Tohka was beaming. "That was fun, Shido!" Shido emerged from the water, having a clinging Kotori hugging him from behind.

"Big brother..." Kotori was half-crying. Her hair was damp and long and un-twin-tailed.

"Kotori? You..." But Kotori was crying for a different reason. She slumped forward and pointed. "Could you get my ribbons please?" She pointed to the floating black ribbons in the water.

Tohka was explaining the ride to Yoshino, Mario and Luigi. "It was swoosh and then whoosh then whee then splash!" Tohka was doing all sorts of arm movements to get the job done.

"That was insane." Kotori was finally done adjusting her ribbons to her hair again.

"Kotori, why did you put on black ribbons today?" Shido noticed.

"What? Got a problem with it?"

"That's not it."

Kotori went deep. "White won't do. I'm weak when I put on the white one. I have to be the black, strong me." She narrowed her eyes.

The dinner scene in the ocean park was a lot more unsettling than it should've been. Sure, Tohka was excited. "This's great, Shido!" Food was basically piling on the table due to Tohka's bottomless stomach."

"It's delicious!" Yoshino was happy too.

"Really? Good to hear." The only ones not having a good time were Shido and Kotori. The ones not at a table were Mario and Luigi. The bros were having a table seperate to themselves, having an eating contest, which of course, Mario was easily winning. Shido turned to Kotori, whom she had a bored expression on her face. Shido quietly turned and quietly communicated with Reine. "Reine, how are the values of Kotori's mood and affection gauges?"

"They didn't fall but they didn't rise either. No changes whatsoever."

Shido stopped communicating and looked at Kotori. "So she's completely indifferent?" He thought to himself. "I can't seal her like this." He watched her take a sip of her orange juice from her cup. Kotori then coughed on the juice, although it did seem to exaggerate.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it just went the wrong way." She got up and walked somewhere.

"Where're you going?"

"Asking a lady where she goes when she stands up... That'd be a fatal mistake if it wasn't me."

Shido watched her walk off and sighed. He then noticed Tohka and Yoshino were staring at him. "What?"

"You're back to your usual self." Tohka commented.

"Did you have a fight with Kotori...?" Yoshino quietly said.  
"You seem relieved that she's gone." Yoshinon.. not-quietly said. "You're so obvious, Shido."

"Eh? Really?" They both nodded at the same time to his question. "I'm gonna... go use the restroom." He then walked onwards. The Mario Bros. didn't even look his way when he walked by. He was now at the restroom. "Reine, am I really that nervous? Tell me the values of my mental monitors."

KANNAZUKI replied to Shido. "Ah, Shido. Reine isn't here to do an analysis right now."

"I see." But then he stopped. He saw a lab coat go behind two vending machines in the restroom. He got curious and went closer.

"Shido, don't!" Kannazuki tried to warn him, but Shido went and hid in front of the vending machine to listen in to any conversation.

* * *

Behind the vending machines were Reine and Kotori. "Are you all right, Kotori?"

"Yeah, but it was a close call." Kotori held up her arm. "Please."

"I've already given you 50 times the normal amount this morning. Any more would-"

Kotori weakly smiled. "I'm a Spirit now. I won't die to some drugs. Please. I'm on a date with Shido-with big brother... Please... This might be our last... If this fails, I won't be myself tomorrow. I want to enjoy my date with big brother before that..." Reine caved in and pulled out a needle.

Shido had to listen to all that dramatic tension. There's a deadline. This wasn't just a fanservice episode. It was a fanservice episode with plot. Reine was done injecting Kotori with drugs and then left the scene. She stopped and turned to notice Shido. When Shido realised his presence was acknowledged, he moved forward. Reine followed him, in which Shido struck up the conversation. "Reine, how long has Kotori been like that?"

"Since she regained her Spirit powers."

"Then why? Why didn't you tell me?"

"She asked that we don't tell you. She didn't want you to go on a date with her out of mere pity."

Shido gritted his teeth. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Reine continued. "So please, pretend you didn't see that. It's for Kotori's sake."

"I got it."

* * *

Kotori returned to the diner and saw Shido alone at a table with piles and piles of empty dishes (from Tohka) were on his table. "Shido? Where's the other four?"

Shido ignored this. "Kotori, let's change and head over to the theme park part!"

"Huh?" Kotori was confused but instantly clicked in. "You got orders from Fraxinus? This place isn't working out, so we switch to the amusement park? Not that I mind."

"That's where you're wrong." Shido fidgeted with his earpiece until it came into his hand. He tossed it to the ground.

"Shido...?"

"I just like theme parks more than pools."

"Huh...?"

"Don't worry about the four. I sent Tohka and Yoshino off on the jungle cruise here. And I'm pretty sure Mario and Luigi can handle themselves." He then took Kotori's hand, in which Kotori was speechless. "Let's have some fun. It's been a while since we've been to a theme park. You better brace yourself, Kotori."

Kotori was more than excited.

* * *

Things were looking grim in the AST HQ. Origami and Ryouko were looking at some equipment. "Is this the 'exciting equipment'?" Origami asked.

"Yeah. It's the prototype DW-029 Annihilator Gear, the White Licorice. It's a crazy unit that has firepower equal to a whole AST squad."

"With this, defeating Efreet might be possible."

"In theory, it should defeat Spirits. And... other worldly beings." Ryouko got flashbacks to her hot springs trip with Mario's interruptions. "But you can't use it. You've neither got the permission nor the skill. DEM's specialist wizard was vaporized after using it for just 30 minutes full power. But why do you bring up Efreet?" She then continued. "I see. So that thing on the footage from the other day was Efreet? She did have flames..."

"Footage?"

Origami was now witnessing said footage. There it was, in flesh and blood on footage, Efreet, also known as Kotori. Origami glared eye-to-eye with that footage. "Kotori.. Itsuka!"


	15. Thrilling Climax

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No, not that kind of climax, dirty minded people. It's the end!... of season 1.

Kotori's blood pressure was rising as the ride she was riding on, next to her was her big brother, Shido. Kotori was sweating bullets as the ride escalated her, higher and higher. She might've thrown up if she was afraid of heights. She turned to Shido, but he was grinning ear to ear. There was no exit from this escalating doom, and Shido knew this. Kotori asked. "Shido.. are you sure? Is it too late to get off? I want off."

"Oh, it's WAY too late now."

The ride suspended. For a minute, nobody moved. And then suddenly, without warning, it came swooping down. Kotori's screams filled the air.

* * *

"Should we depart now? I've gotten intel about strange otherworldly beings that are not Spirits." A female spoke in the darkness.

"Not Spirits you say?" A man in a darkly dimmed office thought to himself. "I do not suppose this was part of the plan?"

"It wasn't. I've managed to gather information for approximately seven otherworldly beings." The female passed down some documents that were somehow bypassed from Fraxinus over to this mysterious duo.

"Let's take a gander, shall we?" The man turned on a light, which revealed the man to have spiky, dark ash blond hair. "Hmm. These documents come with pictures. These could be helpful in the experimentations. First document... A man named... Mario. Strange. Out of all these 7 documents, only two are close to human. Mario and... Luigi, it seems. The rest definitely do not seem normal. How interesting. Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, Donkey Kong, and two strange rabbit-like creatures known as Rabbids."

"If I believe correctly, we've already got one of them." The woman simply said.

"Yes, I'm aware. But it was too scared to even talk. At least the DNA confirmed it was named Side-Eye. When the time comes, I'll have you test these otherworldly beings using your knowledge of that DNA from Side-Eye. Now," He looked at the documents again. "Do you know which one the potential leader of these beings could be?"

"If I recall correctly, every quest has been led by the red one. Very well. I shall test him soon. After we get rid of this other problem."

"Ah, yes. I should expect the Strongest Wizard In Humanity to know when to stand by when a great Flame Spirit comes soon." The man chuckled.

"I'm counting on you, Ellen. Please be patient." The man continued, and looked down at the picture of Mario, malicious intent in mind.

* * *

Mario was surfing down the jungle cruise on a log while standing up because he was that cool. "Yippee!"

Meanwhile, Luigi was crying for his life while he was tightly buckled in on a flume log. "Waaa-haaaa!" Of course, his ride was calmer than Mario's, but it was still nerve-wrecking to Luigi.

"C'mon, Luigi! Live a little! We're in-a this strange new dimension, far away from-a the Mushroom Kingdom! Might as well make-a the most out of it!" Mario was beaming as he was still log surfing.

"I.. I want to, Mario! But this flume is going way too fast!"

"It's going down a GENTLE stream!" Mario then backflipped onto another log flume and realised his mistake. The log flume that Mario jumped on was owned by Tohka and Yoshino.

"A-aaa!" Yoshino screamed.

"Whaaaaa-!" Tohka also screamed.

Luigi gave Mario a 'I told you so' expression as he gently rid down his log flume.

* * *

"Yes! Finally!" Blue Toad was staring at a static TV. "Great job, Rabbids!" The Rabbids gave a thumbs up. Although Rabbid Luigi did most of the work.

Yellow Toad snickered and folded his arms.

"What are you laughing at?"

"How do you get the channels to work?"

Everyone just blankly stared at the screen as everyone sighed.

* * *

Another high ledge. This time it was a rollercoaster. Kotori was quivering and sweating, as she turned to Shido. "You got me..." The rollercoaster dropped down it's steep end, going a million miles an hour, just like the chair drop. Kotori screamed the same scream as she did before. The rollercoaster wasn't even really that intense. It was the steep bit and that was it. Kotori was much more of a crybaby than she let on to be. The Fraxinus crew were watching the aftermath of the ride, Kotori yelling at Shido.

"Is Shido going to be alright?" Kannazuki started.

"I believe so. This is probably the best way to approach the Kotori problem. Shin is doing better than expected. I might have jumped the gun by expecting this to end badly." Reine just watched the scene unfold.

"I hope your right." Kannazuki was worried as Shido and Kotori entered a ghost house called a Monster Horror House.

Skeletons, undead people, zombies... blue torches, all the sorts of things you'd expect from a horror house. Let's be thankful Luigi isn't here. Shido didn't mind the horror house, but Kotori looked as lifeless as the props themselves. Shido extended his hand. "Here, Kotori, take my hand."

"What?! Don't treat me like a kid! Shido, could it be that YOU'RE the one who's scared?!" Kotori tried to smoothly lie to hide her own fear.

Shido lies more, apparently. "That's right! Just hold my hand already!"

"W-what? You're grossing me out!"

"I'm so scared, Kotori! Please hold my hand!" He faked bawling his tears.

"Okay, whatever!" The two linked hands after Kotori grumbled a bit.

The one who screamed this time was Kannazuki. "You wasted a great opportunity, Shido! Had you hugged the commander instead, you could have felt her soft breasts and might have gotten her to mark your face with the hard sole of her shoes!"

Now they were in a go-kart, Doki Doki Racing, and Kannazuki was having a Doki Doki Panic. "What? Why are they both in the kart?! Shido should have let her ride the kart after he frantically ran along ahead of her! The commander's kart would then close the gap with blinding speed! As he falls over, the bumpers would leave marks on his shoulders after the kart Rams straight into him!" Did he just capitalise 'Ram'? Goodness knows. "Ah! Commander!" He flailed around on the floor. "Have mercy! Have mercy!"

All the Fraxinus members just looked at him pathetically. "Shido was right. Throwing the communicator away was a good move."

They all nodded.

* * *

The scene was now a giant boat with Tohka, Yoshino, Mario and Luigi. There were no rough waves, just smooth sailing from here.

"Yeah! This jungle cruise is every bit as good as Shido suggested it would be!" They were all on the back seats of the boat, looking out to the boat's back, smooth water behind them.

"It is fun, right...?" Yoshino said.  
"We can take it easy, too!" Yoshinon then said.

"But I had-a fun on the log flumes..." Mario pouted and folded his arms.

"Not everyone did!" Luigi cried out.

"Even still," Tohka turned to them. "All of this would've been even more fun if Shido and Kotori were here as well. Why didn't they come?" Yoshino tried to raise her hand as if to speak, but Tohka was persistent. "Alright! I should call them!"

"P-please don't, Tohka!" Yoshino whimpered.

"Why? The more the merrier!"

"That is not it..."  
"We MIGHT have heard something major." _A brief flashback began. Reine and Shido talking on the Fraxinus. Yoshino was there the whole time._

"Kotori's a Spirit?!" Tohka was shocked.

"Hey, now." Mario's pouty face turned into a serious one as he still folded his arms. "I thought-a we went over this last chapter."

"It's still hard to believe..." Luigi sighed.

Yoshino continued. "Shido is trying to seal her powers as he did with you and me..."  
"I heard them say that no-one knows what will happen to Kotori if he fails. We shouldn't get in the way."

"I see..." Tohka sighed. "Is there anything we could do? We owe Kotori. I wish they'd also let me help."

"I think we owe Kotori too, Bro." Luigi said. "When I was carrying your unconscious body in that crazy rooftop battle, Kotori transported me up when I had nowhere to go!"

"Yeah. I think I was-a transported too when I got knocked out during my-a first fight with Origami... Along with Rabbid Luigi." Mario folded his arms again.

"Kotori..." Tohka continued. "How do I put it? She smells like Shido."

"That's because they use the same shampoo!" Yoshinon shouted. "Ahahahahaha!"

"All we can do.." Yoshino said quietly, "Is trust Shido."

* * *

"Emergency alert!" Sirens went off in the AST base. "Unit DW-029 is missing! All attempts to trace it are failing!"

Ryouko and an AST soldier just stared at the blank spot where the unit was meant to be. "The entirety of the White Licorice equips along with all of the unit's ammo are gone. We discovered the unit was missing when we returned from our break after the deployment inspection."

Ryouko remembered something Origami said. _"With this, defeating Efreet might be possible."_

"Origami..."

* * *

The brother and sister were now on a park bench. Kotori breathed a sigh of relief while Shido breathed a sigh of excitement. "Okay, I didn't know theme parks could be this much fun!" Shido was happy.

"Right, you're such a kid. I hope you grow up before graduating high school."

"I don't want to hear that from someone who enjoyed the splash coaster so much."

"What did you say?!" She gritted her teeth but then stopped. "I'll let it go since I'm tired. Anyway, I can say it wasn't boring."

"Okay, I see." Shido gazed into the distance, as a thought entered his head. "When was the last time we came to a theme park? If it was with our family, then..."

"Five years ago."

"It's been that long?" Shido remembered the similarities. Origami's parents died 5 years ago. Kotori became a Spirit 5 years ago. Shido stared at Kotori, in which she took notice.

"What?" Kotori asked, but Shido continued staring. "Huh? Could it be-?"

"Kotori."

"Y-yes?" Kotori started fidgeting. "S-shido, um... Your timing is perfect, but don't you think we should head to some place that's less crowded?"

"Why?"

"A-are you serious?"

"This place is as good as any other. So.. Kotori?"

"What is it...?"

"I have a question for you."

"Y-you shouldn't ask me to kiss you like that out of the blue!" She then turned to Shido. "Wait, what?" She stuttered, then proceed "N-nothing! What do you want to ask me? Just get it over with already!"

"S-sure thing." Shido then told her. "S-so, Kotori, five years ago, what did you-" Shido's sentence was interrupted by a green forcefield of some kind. Not even a a second later, an explosion happened literally millimeters away from him. The dust eventually went away, Shido quickly stood up and looked to his left where the explosion happened. Replacing Kotori's spot was an incinerated bench, with smoke still spewing out. It took Shido a second to realise what had just happened. He ran towards the blasted part of the bench. "Kotori!" He ran but was immediately blocked by the green forcefield again. He turned his head to the sky. And there he saw a familiar short-white-hair girl. Origami, wearing a not-so-familiar battle outfit.

"Shido, this place is dangerous. Get away from here." Origami was as serious as ever.

"Origami...?!" Shido was still mentally shocked over what just happened. His sister COMPLETELY obliterated within a single second. "Origami! Do you have any idea what you just did?!" Shido kept yelling while the people around him started to evacuate to safety.

"I killed Kotori Itsuka." Origami said as if it was nothing.

Shido gritted his teeth, but then heard a voice. It sounded like... Kotori. "You've killed me? I dare you to say that again. Keep boasting, girl." A giant burst of flames cleared away the smoke, revealing Kotori in the air. The flame aura around her continued as she floated to the ground. The flames disappeared as soon as she landed. "Origami, I thought you were wiser than this." The people were still evacuating, but Kotori, Shido and Origami were just still. "No alert had been issued. No one had evacuated the premises either. Even so, you fire your missiles around with no discretion whatsoever. You didn't strike ME as being a crazy bitch."

Origami gritted her teeth at Kotori's curse, and then fired her bullets mercilessly. "Kotori!" Shido's screams were useless, as Kotori summoned a flame barrier when the bullets got closer.

"Elohim Gibor." Kotori called out. The flames around her intensifies. Her current cute-sy clothes disintegrated and was now replaced with firey smoke. Her clothing then materialised from the flames and the fire, revealing her own Astral Dress. She now wears a white kimono and has a pair of horns sticking out from her ribbons. The ribbons also gain gold flower patterns on them. She stopped transforming and grinned at Origami.

Origami couldn't believe her eyes. There, standing before her, was the Spirit of Flame itself. The same one that killed her parents five years ago. Kotori still wasn't finished as she summoned her weapon. "Camael." A giant axe formed in Kotori's hand and she swung it, preparing for battle.

Origami took no funny business and charged in. "I found you... FINALLY!" The battle between the two knocked Shido back a bit as he stumbled and hit the ground.

"Kotori! Origami! Stop it!" Shido's screams were muffled by the explosions of missiles and flames between Origami and Kotori. "Stop it! Please!"

* * *

Tohka and Yoshino were confused. They heard explosions and saw people running. "Blasts? Don't tell me... Kotori?!" Tohka instantly tried to go save Kotori but was stopped by the hand puppet, Yoshinon. "W-what are you doing?"

"You can't go, Tohka! Remember, your powers are sealed inside Shido now! Judging from these explosions, the enemy is quite powerful! If you get involved, you might not survive!" Tohka then patted Yoshinon for trying their best to protect Tohka. She gripped Yoshinon's hand.

"Thanks for the warning. But I can't just abandon Shido." She suddenly started glowing, as limited parts of her Astral Dress came back to her. "Since Shido is doing his best to save Kotori, I have to do all I can to protect him. Now, before I leave..."

"...?"

"Where's Mario and that green guy?" Tohka turned with a serious look on her face. Just then, an Italian voice rose.

"Sorry we're-a late. We were-a getting ready for the battle." Mario...

"Yeah. Let's save them." And Luigi...

But they were not in their swimming trunks right now. They were wearing red and green 'M' and 'L' hats. Mario wore a red shirt and blue overalls, and Luigi wore a green shirt and blue overalls. Yes, it's their classic looks that everyone knows them for. Mario grinned at Tohka. "So, whaddya say? Let's-a-go?"

Tohka grinned back, as Tohka flew up and the brothers jumped away, leaving Yoshino behind.

"Yoshinon... can I go too?"  
"I won't stop you, if it's what you really wanna do."

Yoshino started to glow just like Tohka did.

* * *

"Huh?" Blue Toad stared at a moving picture.

"Hey!" Yellow Toad shouted. "We got the TV working!"

Cheers of bwahs and victories and 'grah hoo' from Donkey Kong filled the air.

...But then they realised something wrong. The TV channel currently displaying was an emergency broadcast.

"Citizens are fleeing from unknown explosions throughout Tengu City Amusement Park-"

The Rabbids and Donkey Kong stared at the TV closely and then back to the Toads, and then realised the two were gone.

"Bwah?!" Rabbid Luigi was shocked, but then saw the Toads running to the amusement park through the window.

The three remainders just stared at each other, and nodded in seriousness. Rabbid Luigi equipped his Bworb and Rabbid Peach equipped her Blaster. Donkey Kong didn't bring any weapons, because his fists are his weapons. They bursted out the door and down to the amusement park, following the Toads.

* * *

The battle between Origami and Kotori was airborne as Kotori didn't have a single scratch. "You sure are using some nasty weapon there." Kotori remarked while Origami squinted her eyes. Kotori flew around, leaving a firery trail, very similar to the trail that Bowser had when crashlanding back down to the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Activate Territory!" Origami commanded as a green forcefield surrounded Kotori. "Lock coordinates!" Missiles fired towards Kotori's limited space. A giant explosion occured within the forcefield known as Territory, as there was nothing left but smoke and rubble. Origami panted for breath, but had an angry look when she realised Kotori STILL wasn't damaged at all.

"Not bad. I've never seen that unit before. Is it a new machine?" Kotori had a flame in her hands with a sadistic grin on her face. She then realised it as her eyes shrunk as she clasped her head. "No... I used too much..."

"Kotori!" Shido shouted.

Origami commanded another attack. "Activate Cleaveleaf!" Glowing green wires sprouted out of Origami's suit and latched onto Kotori, capturing her successfully. "Activate Territory!" The green forcefield appeared once again, completely trapping Kotori. "Erase her, Blasterq!" A green laser fired onto the Territory, which was so powerful, smaller green lasers bounced off and exploded everything in sight."

"Kotori!" Shido continued to plead.

Kotori, however, was more than okay as she swung her giant axe upon Origami's machine. It plummeted the both of them. Origami was panicking as Kotori kept hacking away at the machine with her axe. "Activate Defense Territory!" A green forcefield then surrounded the mech, as Origami got a stable flying level, but was constantly in pain by Kotori.

"What happened to that confidence you had a moment ago?" Kotori grinned ear to ear, showing her insane grin. "Weren't you going to defeat me? Weren't you going to dispose of me? Weren't you going to kill me? You have to fly much more quickly! Point your sword and guns at me! Otherwise, you're going to die first!"

"Kotori! Stop it!" Shido was now desperate to save BOTH of them.

Eventually, the axe swing broke the Territory, as the machine that Origami was piloting crashed down.

"What? Is that all you got?" Kotori continued. "What a buzzkill." She then raised her axe. "Camael. Megiddo." The axe instantly transformed into a cannon, as she aimed at Origami. "Oh well, if you are no longer able to fight, you aren't of any use to me."

"Kotori, STOP!" Shido started running.

The cannon started charging. "Efreet...!" Origami managed to utter that name.

"I don't like that name. Where did you learn about it?"

"Did you use that to kill them? Five years ago, to kill my parents?!"

Kotori stopped charging her cannon. "What? What're you talking about?"

"Five years ago, my parents were killed by the Spirit of fire. You were the one who did it! How could I forget? I'll NEVER forget! That's why I'll kill you. I'm going to kill you. I'll kill you even if it's the last I do, Efreet!"

Kotori took a step back in shock, and crouched down trying to fight back the truth. "No way... I..."

But this was a trap set up by Origami. She quickly reactivated her mech again and took off into the skies. "I won't miss this time!" More energy whips held Kotori hostage and activated a Territory around her.

"Kotori!" Shido kept running.

"White Licorice, overdrive mode."

Finally, Shido caught up and put his arms out like a shield in front of Kotori, very similar to the Kurumi scene back on the school rooftop. "Origami, stop! Please!"

"Don't get in my way, Shido."

"I won't let you do this!"

"As I've said before, avenging my parents is the only thing I live for. Killing Efreet, Kotori Itsuka, is my only reason for living!"

But Shido was persistent. "No! I won't let you kill her! As soon as you pull the trigger, there's no turning back!" Shido didn't want the same situation of Mana to happen to Origami. "I don't want to ever see you end up like THAT!"

"I don't care. I must kill Efreet, or I will never be at peace."

"Just tell me this, Origami! You want to take revenge on Efreet, not my sister, Kotori, right? It's the Spirit of fire, Efreet?"

"What are you saying?"

"Answer me! You want to take revenge on the Spirit of fire, not my human little sister, right?"

"What you say does not make sense. I certainly want to take revenge on the Spirit of fire, Efreet, but Kotori Itsuka is that Spirit. What you propose is never going to happen. Get away from there, Shido."

"No! Origami, give me some more time!"

"No, that is unacceptable. This is my best chance to slay Efreet." Origami's cannons had finished charging.

"Please! Call me naive if you want, but I can't just let my cute little sister get killed or watch my friend drown in despair!"

"Even still, I must..." Origami then summoned a second Territory around SHIDO.

"Origami!" Shido yelled, and Origami herself was reluctant to fire, as she screamed.

...and Tohka screamed at the same time as her. Tohka sliced one of the guns to weaken it. Then Mario stomped on it followed by Luigi. The gun was then frozen.

"Yahoo!" Mario landed, tipping his hat.

Shido was very relieved. "Tohka! Yoshino! Mario! Luigi! You guys are all here!"

"Are you and Kotori alright?" Tohka asked.

Yoshinon was transformed into the giant shark that was shown earlier. "Talk about great timing! That was a close call! You can thank us later!"  
"B-but for now..." Yoshino quietly looked up.

"Yeah, eliminating a problem. Our-a specialty!" Mario raised his fist.

"Oh yeah!" Luigi raised his fist too.

"Don't get in the way!" Origami yelled. She then fired lasers at the four troublemakers. Tohka and Yoshino flew up while Mario and Luigi simply dodge-rolled out of the way.

Tohka somehow communicated with Shido from that height. "Shido, leave this to us and run!"

"You four..."

"Just hurry! We won't last very long!"

"Sorry!" Shido called out and grabbed Kotori princess-style and made a run for it.

Origami withdrew her laser cannons and equipped a beam sword. "I won't waste time on you!" She charged straight for Tohka, and the two of them clashed swords.

Meanwhile, on ground, Mario was struggling. "It's like-a all my shots are just ignored! How can we get-a up to her?"

"M-Mario? I hear several people!" Luigi pointed out, in which Mario turned, and there...

Was Blue Toad and Yellow Toad. "You guys need some more ammo? Hah, we gotcha!" They were both holding Fire Flowers. Rabbid Luigi and Rabbid Peach were holding their respective weapons. Donkey Kong just shrugged and knew he had his fists ready. Mario looked at Luigi and Luigi nodded.

"Alright, Luigi, take-a my Bwahnzai Blaster. I'm going in-a headfirst!" He passed over his Bwahnzai Bill to Luigi, in which he took it hesitantly. Mario turned to Donkey Kong. "Care to give-a me a boost?" Donkey Kong nodded. And then they ran to the clashing scene as fast as they could.

Meanwhile, in the clashing scene, Tohka and Origami were plummeting. "Stop it, Origami!" Tohka yelled. "Killing her won't change anything!"

"What the hell do you know?!" Origami yelled back.

"I know! I know all too well! Did you forget what you did to Shido?!" Tohka and Origami both remembered the same flashback of Shido getting shot. "During that incident, I felt terrible! It was unbearable! I was filled with grief! You must've felt the same way when you lost your parents! Do you really want Shido to go through all that?! I won't let that happen! I don't want to let Shido feel that pain!"

Origami eventually screamed during all of this and pushed Tohka back. However, that was part of Tohka's plan. She counterstriked with her sword, and Origami knocked her way back and shot missiles. Tohka yelled again. "MARIO!"

"NOW, DONKEY KONG!" Mario jumped up, and Donkey Kong opened his palms. Everything went in slow motion. Mario got a massive boost from the strong muscles of DK and did a backflip while in the middle of four shots from Rabbid Luigi, Rabbid Peach, Blue Toad and Yellow Toad. But Mario didn't quite make it. Just then, Mario got shot from below, gaining an extra boost. This shot was from Luigi. Mario witnessed Tohka getting obliterated painfully with missiles. "You don't-a listen, huh?! MY TURN!" He twisted his foot, and stomped directly on Origami's machine, which sends it plummeting down again.

"Get away! You're not even in this grudge!" Origami yelled.

"Don't you-a know the PAIN of losing a relative?! We were-a sent to HELL before I finally reunited with-a my bro!" Mario yelled. "My bro was-a lonely for so long! Nobody helped him! He cowered all-a the time! It wasn't even his-a fault! Saving the world cost us our-a lives, and I don't-a want to see Shido in the same pain that I-a felt!" He screamed as he curbstomped harder. Origami shook him off as he fell towards the ground.

* * *

Explosions were only heard as Shido and Kotori were now safe from the all-out war.

Kotori was near-silent at this rate. "Shido..."

"It's okay. I'll sort this out somehow." He put his hand on her shoulder after looking at the explosions. "Kotori!"

"Y-yes?"

 _"I can't get in contact with Reine right now.."_ Shido thought... _"I can't confirm her affection gauges... If I can't seal her powers..."_

The battle with Tohka, Origami and Mario was right next to the safe zone, with Origami yelling out "Efreet!"

"Kotori!" Shido tried to get Kotori's attention. "Kotori, Kotori! You're my cute little sister! You're my greatest pride in this world! I love you so much! I love you!"

Kotori gasped.

"Kotori! Do you love me?"

"I-I can't just answer that!"

Explosions were EVERYWHERE from the battle between everyone, and it was only a matter of time before Shido and Kotori were obliterated.

"KOTORI!"

"I do! I love you too! I love you, big brother! More than anyth-" She was cut off as Shido performed the kiss seal. There was no time to think about incest for it was the heat of the moment. Shido ignored the explosions around him and they both _got a flashback of when Kotori first turned into a Spirit. The glitchy figure from before was there, and just when Shido was knocked out, Kotori kissed him, sealing Efreet into Shido and healing his wounds. Shido gave Kotori the black ribbons back._

They broke apart the kiss, and Shido seemed to see it. "What we just saw..."

"I remembered... Back then, there was... someone else." Their emotional moment was cut by more explosions. Shido was then carrying Kotori princess-style as he ran away, his back getting hit by explosions. He groaned in pain.

Origami caught up eventually. "Shido!" She then saw the wounds of Shido's back getting healed by blue flames. "What was that?"

Shido got up, not even facing Origami. "Origami, do I remember correctly? You said your enemy is the Spirit of fire, Efreet, and not the human, Kotori Itsuka. Kotori's not a Spirit anymore. She's human." Shido then turned to Origami. "So, change your target. I'm Efreet now! Target ME!"

"What on earth..."

"I remembered what happened five years ago. I remembered what Kotori and I were doing at the time."

"Efreet killed my parents!"

"Efreet was certainly caused by the fire, but Kotori didn't kill anyone!"

"That's nonsense! I'm sure I saw a Spirit!"

"Because there was one, the Spirit who did this to Kotori!"

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"Yeah."

Origami descended onto the ground. "I want to believe you, but I can't!" She re-activated her beam sword.

"If you can't believe me, then shoot me."

Tohka, Yoshino, and the Mario cast were not fighting. They just stood back and watched.

"Origami, I remember what you said. You won't let anyone suffer the same way you did."

Origami was close to snapping, as her laser beam retracted. She fell to the ground, detached from the mech. "The operation limit...! No, I can't afford to fail!" She literally pulls out a normal gun.

"Please, don't take Kotori from me! She saved me! If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here! Please! Believe me!"

Origami was twitching and struggling to stay upright... and then collapsed. Shido ran to Origami.

* * *

A certain goth figure was still on top of the school roof. The one Spirit that Shido failed to save. Kurumi Tokisaki. Her clock eye was rewinding upon itself as her shadows retracted back to her normal shadow.

"That is still not enough." Kurumi looked to the sky as she ignored a giant flaming streak going straight through the sky, piercing through the clouds.

* * *

Everyone was on board the Fraxinus. "I'm sorry, Shin." Reine broke the silence. "Today's events spiraled out of control entirely because of my decision, which was wrong."

"Do you mean the decision to let the other two join in on our date? I think that was fine."

"No, you shouldn't have gone on a date in the first place. The best course of action would've been to seal Kotori's powers right after you woke up yesterday. But Kotori was looking forward to the date so much."

"Pardon? But that wouldn't have worked, would it? I can't seal them without raising the affection levels first."

Reine then pressed a button on the remote, revealing Kotori's status, including affection.

"What is this?"

"It's a summary of Kotori's affection gauges for you since yesterday." They turned to the charts. A perfect maximum score. "That's right, there has been no flaws whatsoever. The gauges have been at their maximum all this time. She said it herself, didn't she? She loves her big brother."

"What?" Shido turned to Reine, but was immediately kicked in the back by Kotori. Shido collapsed to the floor.

Kotori was rambling. "That's either an error or some bug in the system!"

"That is not the case." Reine quietly said. "The numbers are correct."

Kotori pointed to Reine. "Ten Rapsel Limited Milk Cream Puffs!"

Reine turned to Shido with no emotion. "Sorry, Shin, it must be a calculation error."

Shido slowly got up. "I-if you say so..." He turned to Kotori. "Is your body alright? Shouldn't you stay in bed?"

"I don't have time for that. I must prepare some reports. I finally remembered the Spirit who appeared five years ago. Considering how it might be possible our memories might be erased again, records must be kept somewhere other than our heads."

"I see. Don't strain yourself."

"I'll be careful. By the way, Shido..." Kotori asked just before exiting the control room. "The thing you said before sealing my Spirit powers... Is it true?"

"Of course it's true. I love you, Kotori."

Kotori blushed and started to fidget. "Uh... I... Um... I..."

"As my little sister, that is."

Shido's mistake words were quickly delivered by a karma kick to the side by Kotori. "THAT'S WHAT YOU MEANT?!"

After groaning in pain, he quickly got up. "Kotori!"

"What?"

"Those ribbons look great on you."

"Yeah, thanks, big brother." The door closed, seperating Shido and Kotori.

* * *

Sunset. A good sunset. A daily life would begin now.

The AST were putting Origami's previously used mech back into it's original position.

Tonomachi was still showing off his virtual girlfriend. Of course, the three gossipers, Ai, Mai and Mii were not impressed. Tamae was laughing in the background.

Origami was in the hospital bed, but tied up to prevent any more issues.

Mario and the crew were tidying up the amusement park after the incident.

Shido and Tohka were staring into the sunset. "Thanks for helping me back then. If Yoshino, Mario's friends, or you hadn't arrived, who knows what would've happened to Kotori or Origami."

Tohka simply shook her head. "I just reacted to your feelings. I'm sure it was the same in Yoshino's case. As for Mario, I'm pretty sure he just followed us when we went to your direction. Shido, please, if other Spirits show up, please save them. Just like you saved Yoshino, Kotori and me."

"Sure, I can promise that."

"But don't kiss them." Tohka pouted.

"Come again?"

"I-I don't really understand why, but I don't like it when you kiss someone."

"Um... well, that might prove to be problematic."

"Then kiss me now!"

"Why?!"

Tohka's eyes started watering. "Shido... you can't?"

Shido sighed and put his hands on Tohka's shoulders, and slowly leaned in. Just as they were about to, Kotori interrupted on the intercom. "Not too shabby, Shido!" Shido looked up and saw the Fraxinus come into view. "Please don't mind us and carry on to whatever you were doing!"

"What are you peeking at?!" Shido retaliated.

"Shido!" Tohka grabbed his arm. "Come on..." They both leaned in again.

The Fraxinus crew chanted. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

And they did...? No, wait, they were just interrupted by a random Yoshinon out of nowhere. "To be continued!"

Yoshino was just below "...sometime..."

* * *

"Ha ha!" Mario dusted his white gloves. "Well-a done, everybody!" The amusement park was now back to it's original state.

"Yeah. And it's getting dark too! Perfect timing!" Luigi cheered.

Blue Toad and Yellow Toad were exhausted. "Thank goodness. I need a break. And, hey, this world isn't so bad! We may stay a while!"

"Yeah, cuz there's no exit."

Mario chuckled. "Ah, come-a on! Gotta stay optimistic! We saved all of-a the Spirits!"

"True!"

"So wait..." Yellow Toad questioned. "What does that mean?"

"Oh-ho!" Luigi was excited. "Everyone's in the same spot! Let's jump in victory!"

Mario looked around himself. Rabbid Luigi, Rabbid Peach, Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, Donkey Kong, Luigi and himself.

They turned into the sunset... and jumped!

"YAHOO!" And the freezeframe was complete!

_**THE END** _

. . . ?


	16. Battle at the Tower's Top

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A certain familiar antagonist is here to put Mario in his place.

Everyone landed after the freezeframe. All the Mario characters that had lead up to this moment.

Mario, Rabbid Luigi, Rabbid Peach, Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, Donkey Kong and Luigi.

They still haven't found a way out of this strange anime dimension that they found themselves in.

"Hey!" Blue Toad pointed up. "What's that?"

"Huh...?" Mario looked up. There, he saw a giant fire streak overhead. It landed on top of a tower in the amusement park. "Wah!" He ran towards it.

"Mario! Wait up!" Luigi quickly gave chase. And then the rest of the characters too.

As they were running, Blue Toad had a thought in his head. "Hey, guys, I thought Shido just dealt with a Spirit of flame?"

"Yeah!" Yellow Toad agreed. "And he SEALED her! What's this new flame?"

Mario's heartbeat went a bit crazy. _**Badum. Badum. Badum.**_ His heartbeat would not stop being loud. It was even audible to those around them when they stopped and looked at the crash site. The very top of the Amusement Park Tower. Mario ran forwards in front of everyone else while they took cover. Just then, he heard a voice.

"MARIO!" That voice. Mario knew it WAY too well. Everyone's eyebrows went down in anger as they looked up. And guess who arrived.

A giant beast-like turtle with a spiky shell, demon horns, sharp claws, and spiky bracelets. It's teeth were gnashing and it's red hair was flowing in the wind from the height it was at. The beast, no- it wasn't a beast, it was _**Bowser**_ , Mario's arch-nemesis. He laughed as he jumped up. Mario didn't even move as Bowser slammed down in front of him, knocking everyone else back except Mario.

"BOWSER." Mario called out. He got a good look at Bowser again. He felt a very warm aura and Bowser's eyes were glowing orange. Efreet was still there. Mario knew the half-truth now. Efreet's power had taken over Bowser.

Blue Toad and Yellow Toad were quivering. "B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-BOWSER!" They screamed his name in fear.

"N-n-no way!" Luigi shaked. "I thought we lost him when going through the vortex!"

Donkey Kong was just dumbfounded, and prepared his fists.

Rabbid Peach simply pulled out her Blaster, while Rabbid Luigi was also shaking. He never had seen Bowser so intimidating since the Megabug took him over.

Mario had lost his hat in the impact of the slam. He simply turned to face Bowser, only to find Bowser facing right back at him. After silence from so long between the two, Bowser finally spoke.

"Mario! I don't have time for you."

Mario folded his arms. "Yeah? Well, me-a neither. Get lost, Efreet."

"You dare speak my Spirit name? Gwahahaha! I'm busy planning the destruction of the world! Don't you know that takes time?!"

Mario simply looked at Luigi. Luigi nodded and tossed Mario's lost hat back to him. Mario grabbed the hat and put it on, staring furiously at Bowser. Bowser's size seemed to be a bit bigger since being taken over by Efreet.

"So, you want to fight? But you're so weak now!" Bowser laughed. "No friends can save you when I bring you to the top! I'm gonna _knock you out and spin you all over_! And then roast you!" He declared.

Bowser then stomped his foot back a bit, looked at the sky and then roared. "GRAAAAAAAAWRGH!" Mario felt a rumble, as he was brought to the sky into a battle arena, the Top of the Amusement Park Tower.

"Marioooo!" Luigi yelled, but it was no use as Bowser's roars echoed.

The fight begun.

Bowser raised his hands. "Camael!" At once, the flaming axe appeared. Mario gritted his teeth.

He had no time to greet his teeth, however, as Bowser started slamming his axe towards Mario. Mario rolled out of the way, thank goodness. Bowser then charged at Mario.

"Wa-ah!" Mario watched as Bowser leapt up into the air. Mario then looked to the side. Camael was sticking right there since it got stuck when Bowser struck. Mario ran out of the way when Bowser slammed down and grabbed Camael.

Camael's power was a bit overwhelming. "A-a-ah! It's burning! It hurts so much-!" He instantly dropped it while Bowser laughed.

Bowser then charged again and jumped up. Mario got a quick idea. Just as Bowser was about to land, he moved Camael a bit. Bowser then stomped...

on Camael's sharp edge.

"GWAAAARGHHH!" Bowser roared in pain as he flipped over and tumbled on his back. Mario charged in and punched Bowser. Bowser started spinning around the arena due to the sheer strength of the punch.

"Haaaaaahhh!" Mario yelled as he stomped Bowser straight in the gut. That sounded like a crucial hit. Mario was knocked back a bit due to Bowser getting up.

Bowser roared in the air just as he did in the battle cry. Bowser was angry.

He gnashed his teeth, and Mario saw that as a bad sign. He quickly ran as Bowser breathed fireballs at Mario, the fireballs being much faster and more lethal now that he had Efreet. Mario was panicking now that Bowser was slamming Camael's axe TWICE... with SHOCKWAVES added. Mario jumped and dived and tried to dodge past everything. He finally landed when he saw Bowser jumping up again. Mario quickly vaulted over Camael as Bowser landed on the sharp edge again.

"GRAGH!" Bowser roared in pain again and he tipped over again. Mario punched Bowser in the forehead, which sent him into a spinning motion. Mario stomped again which was another crucial hit. One more and Bowser would be done. Mario quickly seperated himself from Bowser and Bowser got up.

"Gwaaa-AAAAARGH!" Bowser was so angry that he lifted himself in the air a bit, and came down. He yelled out from the top of his lungs. "MEGIDDO!" A cannon came from within Camael and aimed directly at Mario.

"MAMA-MIA!" Mario ran around the arena, dodging a giant fire laser from Megiddo. He then dived back the other way when Bowser slammed Camael three times with shockwaves and rubble all over the place. Mario practically had to be in a bullet hell to dodge it, and, surprisingly, he did. He ran to Camael when Bowser was jumping again, dodging fireballs that rained down. Mario jumped over Camael while Bowser slammed onto it. He tipped over once more.

Mario spun his tail around so he would be spinning around. Mario stomped on his stomach, which flipped Bowser over again, but not finished yet.

"So long, King-a Bowser!" Mario uppercutted his jaw as the Amusement Park Tower crumbled. Bowser did a defeat roar as Mario landed on his feet and Bowser slammed down on his stomach, defeated.

"Y-you did it, Mario!" Luigi cheered as he ran and hugged his bro. The others came in and cheered. Then they all looked at Bowser.

"Grr-oow..." He slowly got up, his eyes still orange and his firey aura grew in rage. "WHY YOU...!" He stomped his foot. "I'm not accepting that easy win!" He smirked and weilded Camael. Everyone got in a fighting position.

Bowser charged in and swung his axe at Luigi, immediately knocking him out.

"LUIGI!" Mario yelled. Bowser chuckled as he quickly turned into his shell-ball and knocked Donkey Kong out. The Rabbids and Toads started to run.

Bowser swung his axe at the Rabbids, knocking them out, and spat a giant fireball at the Toads, knocking THEM out. Mario looked at his friends dropping like flies, as Bowser stomped his foot onto Mario, knocking him out.

"See what you're up against, Mario?" Bowser said with a sinister tone. He snarfed as he turned into a giant flaming ball again and took off into the skies, gone like a comet. All that was heard before he disappeared was his evil laugh.

Just then, a small figure arrived. A blue-hair girl in a hat. "...!" It was Yoshino, but why was she wandering in the dark? It got dark when Mario and Bowser had their duel. "Y-Yoshinon... What's this...?!"  
"I have no idea!"

Yoshino then called out. "S-Shido! I found them!"

Shido and Tohka made it, exhausted. Shido looked at the scene as Mario got up, brutally injured. "Mario?! What happened?! Why is everyone like this?!"

"Bowser... struck back..." Mario clenched his own arm, tears in his eyes due to the pain.

"Kotori!" Shido yelled into the intercom. Kotori reassured him in a calm voice.

"There, there, we've been watching the fight. We'll analyse the scene. For now, I'll bring Mario and the others to the sick bay." At once, everyone was teleported.

"Shido." Kotori asked.

"W-what?"

"As for you, you'll be going home."

"Will Mario be alright?"

"Don't doubt me." Shido was then teleported by Kotori after that last message.


	17. Rinne Utopia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's relaxed and recapped their stories, but a new Spirit appears! Here we go again!

Since the incident, Mario has gotten better. They had an idea.

"Hey, Mario, how about we recap our adventures up until this point?" They were both on the couch, watching TV.

"Sounds-a fine. The others are still in-a the sick bay, might as well pass-a the time."

"Ah, how about you start and I'll continue from my point of view?"

Mario nodded, as recollection flashed in his memories.

* * *

Mario had arrived back from the Mushroom Kingdom after saving Peach from the Moon. Thanks to Cappy, it was possible. Cappy bid Mario and Peach farewell and left along with Tiara.

Princess Peach went back to her castle, and Mario met up with Luigi along with some balloons for some reason. Eventually, they heard a scream coming from the castle, so Luigi ditched the getup and went to the castle.

There, along the way, they met up with Yoshi. After talking for a bit, the three went inside. The trio of Mario, Luigi and Yoshi.

When they went inside, they saw Rabbid Peach on the throne. Mario sighed from the hijinks but then eventually heard a roar from outside.

Everyone went outside, and saw the Mushroom Kingdom being burned! Mario looked up and saw Bowser, the one behind it all!

"Time to burn, Mario!" He declared, as he summoned Bowser Jr. and Kamek.

If Mario were to be honest, this was the most serious that Bowser had ever got. Regardless, he fought Bowser alongside his minions, and his minions were dealt with by the others.

Just then, during the fight, a vortex opened up! Mario was pulled in alongside his friends and Bowser alongside his minions.

There, they were seperated by wormholes. Mario was lead into a gigantic wormhole, and managed to catch Rabbid Luigi and softened the landing by landing in a bush in front of a diner!

But their reunion was cut short by two hurricane twins that Mario later learned to be Spirits-

* * *

"Come again?" Shido asked.

"Yeah, it's complicated, I'll tell you later." Mario assured Shido and continued the story.

* * *

There, they were forced to be part of the twins competition. Hours turned into lunch time from a distant school bell Mario somehow managed to hear.

"I guess it's my turn." Shido guessed.

"Yep."

"Alright, so it was lunch time... let me give a more detailed description."

* * *

Spring. It's April, and the new school year has begun. Although Shido was a normal student, he would feel his life would change drastically.

He encountered an unknown disaster known as "spacequakes". At the center of it, he encountered an extremely gorgeous girl.

"My name? I do not have such a thing." Shido had met the purple Princess-type girl. Come to think of it, back then was the worst kind of situation. Inches away from death, and Shido's first encounter with Mario.

* * *

And just then, Kotori greeted Shido to Fraxinus, and reunited Mario with Rabbid Peach. After being greeted, Shido was tasked to date the Princess, and Mario to distract the AST.

"It's simple. Make the Spirit fall in love, and you win the game."

Shido couldn't believe his ears, and Mario was nervous due to the sheer strength that he saw from the AST. Regardless, they both accepted.

* * *

"Shido, please give me a name." The princess asked.

"T-Tohka..." Shido stuttered. "I-is it good...?"

And thus, Tohka was given her official name. Shido invited her out on a date. Nothing could go wrong.

But he was quickly stopped by an AST member, and his classmate, Origami Tobiichi. She vowed. "Five years ago, my parents were killed by a Spirit."

And then there was sunset. "Tohka! Take my hand! I will never let go!"

"If you tell me what to do.. then I'll do it!"

Tohka had been sealed, and Shido's life sealing Spirits had officially begun.

as well as Mario's torment.

* * *

A few days later, another Spirit had just arrived. Shido had met her in the shrine after Mario did.

"P-please don't hurt me."

A kind and gentle Spirit made Shido realise that even Spirits had feelings.

And then the mall situation came. This is where Mario met up with Blue Toad and Yellow Toad.

During the struggle, Shido failed to save Yoshino early, causing her to seperate from Yoshinon. Thus, the city was stuck in an eternal blizzard.

"Tohka... lend me your power!" Shido desperately called out.

"Of course. How could I forget the kindness in this man to save me?" Tohka was willing to help out.

And with the help of Tohka, Mario, Blue Toad and Yellow Toad, Shido saved Yoshino.

"Thank you for reuniting me with my hero..." Yoshino quietly whimpered.

And that's how Shido managed to seal his second Spirit.

* * *

"Seems as if every-a time there's a new Spirit, another one of-a my friends show up.." Mario pondered.

"Yeah. What a coincidence." Shido shrugged it off and continued the story.

* * *

"My name is Kurumi Tokisaki, and I am a Spirit."

After that bold introduction, surprise surprise, Shido was tasked to date this self-proclaimed Spirit.

However, Shido learned the horrifying truth.

That she... kills people.

Just then, Shido's true little sister, Mana, came in saving him, along with Donkey Kong saving Mario.

"Stand back, Shido, I'll defend you from Nightmare."

After the scene with Kurumi, Shido made a promise to speak to her and face his own fear, talking to her on the rooftop.

That's where he was trapped, because that Kurumi had been a clone all this time.

"Now, I shall make it so you'll never be able to persuade me ever again!"

And suddenly, Kotori came flying in, stopping the show in her Spirit form. "I'll take this back for a while, bro."

The battle ended with Shido going unconscious and Mario getting saved by Luigi.

* * *

"Yeeeah.." Mario huffed. "Kurumi."

"The only Spirit we didn't save." Shido also huffed. "I know."

* * *

With no time to waste, Shido had to date his own little sister. With the background help of everyone who made it thus far...

Origami interferred, but the power of teamwork overcame her, and then...

Shido saved his third Spirit and his sister's life.

That was the end of it all. The end of saving Spirits. What he also learned is the existence of Phantom. But that was for another day.

* * *

"Ah, well. Phantom's the-a only mystery. But for-a now. It's relaxing time..." Mario chuckled.

"Yeah, like we also do." Shido silently chuckled, but something went on in his brain.

_"We're early in the summer... Endless incidents are repeating... I feel like I'm stuck on loop..."_

"Hey, Mario, I'm gonna go outside for a walk. Nice day today."

"Ooh, sounds-a fun! Can I come?"

"Sure."

As they walked outside, someone else walked out. A woman in pink hair. She immediately ran over to Shido and greeted him.

"Good morning, Shido. I've been waiting for you."

"Huh?" Mario was confused. She knows Shido?

That's when Mario noticed a New Tenguu Tower. "Hmm... Two new-a subjects, huh?"

"Ah, Mario." Shido turned. "This is my childhood friend, Rinne Sonogami."

"Greetings, Mario. If you ever desire something from me, I will answer your feeling with all my heart." She then got a bit weird. "We can be lovers, we can kiss, become one, get married, have kids, we can be together as long as you want."

At this point, Mario was just expecting this to be remarked to Shido instead of him. Poor Mario always gets in the friendzone.

"But, if you were to choose someone else, I wouldn't mind either."

"Uh." Mario was lost.

"And of course, I won't force you to choose anyone either. At the same time, if you say you want everyone, then I will support you too."

 _"What the heck?!"_ Mario thought to himself. _"She SUPPORTS the harem time?!"_

"As long as you're happy, I will do anything for you. Whatever you wish for, I will grant it for you. I can be your childhood friend, your girlfriend, your wife, your little or older sister, your mother or your daughter, your senior or junior, your enemy or your foe, or a stranger. I don't mind."

"A-whaaaa?" Mario was completely and utterly lost. Rinne's words made NO sense.

"As long as you're happy, that's all that matters." Rinne left with those words.

"Ah, yeah, Mario, Rinne was always there to support me. Pushed me to keep moving forward."

"When push comes to shove..." Mario mumbled.

"I'm sorry, alright? I just... didn't tell you until now. I was wondering where she was until now." Shido scratched the back of his head. Little did he know, doing such things would slowly wither Rinne's heart away.

"I'm gonna continue. Still wanna come, Mario?"

"...no thanks." Mario went back inside the Itsuka Residence.

* * *

Life kept repeating with everyone else. Tohka, Yoshino, Kurumi, Kotori, Origami, and the Mario Cast.

This was to fulfill Shido's own happiness and desire.

Eventually, this world reached the limit. Only a matter of time before it would collapse.

Rinne is actually a Spirit, and her Angel is called Eden, which watches over this man-made world. Her mind weakens as strange things happen.

Now Shido was in some strange space-like world. He had gotten a chance to speak with Ruler.

Ruler was a pink-hair woman in a strange robe that covered most of her face. "Humans desire to obtain happiness, and discard what makes them sad. In this world, where you can grant your desire for anything... you would reject it?" Ruler was confused but still spoke directly.

"If I can have what I want to come true, then that's fantastic! But fabricated happiness granted by my own whim cannot compete with the happiness obtained by my own hands!" Shido pointed at Ruler and he declared.

"I refuse to accept this Utopia!" He told Ruler his feelings head-on.

Eden's power to sustain this world was slowly losing it's power.

Ruler still spoke calmly. ""The end time is approaching. I'd advise you to think about your answer once more. And if you still insist on rejecting this world... Then come, and kill me."

Ruler left with those words.

* * *

"Wait wait wait, so you-a went to some sort of-a space? AND you spoke with-a the ruler of this world? AND you want to-a KILL her?!" Mario couldn't believe Shido's story when he got back.

"Yeah, that's the gist of it."

Everyoen was there at the scene. All the Mario characters and all the DAL characters. Except Origami, for obvious reasons.

"Woah! That means we gotta stop her!" Tohka exclaimed.

"Yeah, obviously." Luigi pointed out.

"Please...!" Shido pleaded. "Help me!"

"Oh, we will!" Blue Toad jumped up. "We'd never abandon a friend in need?"

"What about all the times where-" Yellow Toad was interrupted.

"We do not talk about the times where I throw you off due to button misinputs."

"Thanks guys." Shido smiled. He turned to New Tenguu Tower. "That tower was actually created by Eden. That's where Ruler is."

"Alright..." Mario scratched his head. "Let's-a-go." They all ran towards the tower.

* * *

They ran into the tower, and there were strange hooded guardians which lacked a head. They were Guardians. Creative name, I know.

Kotori smirked as she was back into her Spirit form. "Come, I'll take you all on at once!"

"I won't let them take a step past us!" Tohka raised her sword.

"Alright, I'll show you all the real power of us Mushroom Kingdom Inhabitants!" Blue Toad shouted.

"Y-yeah, let's!" Yellow Toad quivered because at least he admitted he was nervous.

Mario and Shido snuck past the Guardians and they both ran up to the top of the tower themselves. The spiral stairs seemed endless until eventually they reached a room.

"Mario.. Shido..." There Rinne was. "I knew you'd come."

"Rinne?!" Shido was surprised. "Then... you are..."

"You figured it out, right?" Rinne kept smiling. "Yes, the truth is the cliche you all wanted. Ruler... is me."

Shido was stunned as Rinne was smiling. The future he yearns for... doesn't exist. Rinne doesn't even exist either... she was just a personification of Eden. The power Paradise Lost allowed it.

Escaping from this world of dreams and fantasy... Mario and Luigi helped Shido with that. Thanks to them, Shido recalled his purpose of coming all this way. Shido and Mario stared into the abyss where Rinne went to.

"Please, Rinne, let's go home, back to our daily life, where it all started. We will be fine, we don't need any of this. Don't be scared about failing, or anything, because I am here and everyone else is too! I know, Rinne, you can obtain your own happiness!"

After Rinne was in the abyss, she trapped herself in Eden's Core.

"RINNE!"

"We gotta go-a in!" Mario shouted. They both walked into the abyss, but someone laughed which specifically caught Mario's attention. There, on the side of the abyss, someone flew up on a certain vehicle and came zooming down closer towards the duo. Mario recognised this vehicle as the **Koopa Clown Car** , and it's pilot was none other than...

_**Bowser Jr.** _

"Hey! Stay away from her!" The young prince yelled.

"JUNIOR?!" Mario was baffled, but quickly lowered his eyebrows.

"I see we've met once again, Mario! And with a new friend?" Junior pointed at Shido.

"I assume an enemy?" Shido shrugged, which Mario simply nodded.

Junior pointed at Mario. "I also see what's going on here! You want to use Rinne's special powers for yourself! Especially you, Schoolboy! I've seen ya sealin' Spirits! Don't think you can just take away their power for granted!"

Shido tapped his foot. "What are YOU going to do about it, you brat?"

Junior laughed. "Well, I saw Rinne first! She and all her special powers are MINE!" His clown car floated until it was in front of the abyss, and then he turned to face the duo. He tapped his fingers together like a cliche villain.

Mario sharpened his glare as Junior stared him down and his Clown Car suddenly sprouted boxing gloves. "Even if it means facing you myself! Bring it, Mario! I'll stomp you!"

Shido just looked around. "Er.. what about me?"

"I'll stomp you too!"

"Prove it!"

He didn't need to, but he did. Shido immediately regretted his words when a boxing glove clocked him in the face.

"SHIDO!" Mario cried out, while Junior just laughed. Mario turned to face Junior, as he ran up to him, punching him square in the face.

"YOW!" Junior cried out. Mario wasn't done yet as he quickly kicked Junior straight out of the Clown Car and into the wall of the glitchy abyss world.

"Ah, now we're-a talking!" Mario literally picked up the Clown Car and TOSSED it at Junior.

"W-HUH?!" Junior quickly evaded, shocked. "What the heck? That could've legitimately hurt me!"

"That's the point of-a battles! You get hurt!"

"Nnngghhhaaah!" Junior squirmed then got into his Clown Car. He pulled out a Bob-omb and tossed at Mario.

"Hah!" He tossed it aside. But Mario didn't see another Bob-omb coming right towards him. "Mama-mia!"

Mario ducked, but Shido came running back and tossed the Bob-omb right back at Junior! "HAAAAAAH!" He yelled as he tossed it.

"HUH-" Kaboom! Bowser Jr was blown up, soot all over him. "Oh, now you've done it!" His Clown Car became a cannon.

"Uh oh." Mario was prepared. Shido didn't know what to do, but Mario had an idea. The cannonball shot.

Everything went in slow-motion. Mario...

grabbed the cannonball...

swung it around rapidly...

and tossed it back.

"WAAAAAH!" Junior screamed as he and his Clown Car bounced around the arena, and hit Eden's Core. It lost power and went beserk.

"Did we free Rinne?!" Shido asked desperately. Junior and his Clown Car THUNKED to the ground, and he was out for the count.

"I think-a so.. but you'll have to seal her using the only method you-a know." Mario nodded. Shido stepped up to the now-visible Rinne who was covered in vine-type substances wrapping her up and restraining her.

"Got it!" Shido confirmed. "Then we can go home, right?" He turned to Rinne. "Then you can come with us, right?!"

Rinne simply smiled. "Yeah. With this, everyone can be together. It's the only way we can stay together."

That was the words she said before their lips met. Another seal successful. Mario smiled. Thankfully, Bowser Jr. didn't wake up during this time.

However, Rinne's body was fading into light. She had tears in her eyes as she was smiling.

"Rinne?!" Shido noticed this. "What is.. going on..."

"I'm sorry, but I... I'm the only one who can't go back with you."

"What?! Earlier, you said...!"

"With this, I can hold the days I spent with you precious in my heart. So... I had a thought. Maybe this Utopia was wrong. The days I spent with you, Shido, however, were the days I was truly happy. Shido... I've always... loved you."

Leaving behind those words, Rinne disintegrated to light. Disappearing from the world.

"Ah." Mario tried to speak, but no words came out.

"Rinne? Rinne...!" Shido repeated her name, hoping she would come back. But she never did.

The tower rumbled.

"...!" Mario looked around. "Without-a Rinne's power, this Utopia will-a collapse! Then this tower will just-a be a regular tower again! We need to-a move before we're-a caved in!"

Shido turned to Mario. "What do you want to do about HIM?" He gestured his head towards Bowser Jr.

And then he woke up. "Grrrgh... Stupid Mario and his new schoolboy frie-huh?" Junior didn't get to finish his sentence as Mario was charging straight for him with his hammer. "WAAAH!"

Mario swung his hammer at Junior like a golf club, knocking him and his Clown Car into the stratosphere.

"Now!" Shido yelled. They both jumped through the hole that Junior made and landed straight into the Fraxinus.

* * *

"Reine... what's going on?" Shido asked.

"Let me start by saing this. Ruler is an existence somewhat different from a Spirit."

"Different from a Spirit?"

"Rinne is born from a large amount of Spirit residue and her own consciousness. If her powers are sealed, it's only natural she'd disappear. She created that world to protect you."

"So.. she created Eden not to trap me, but to protect me? I never knew... and Rinne... I..." Shido's voice was sniffling and starting to crack.

Reine's expression didn't change. "Please, Shin, Rinne simply did all this to protect you. If you want to repay her, then please don't do it with guilt or regret, but with gratitude."

"...Yes..."

Reine handed Shido a plastic bag. Turns out she didn't know what was inside it, but Shido did. Reine shortly left to rejoin Kotori in Fraxinus.

The fabricated world created by Eden was about to disappear. Shido decided one thing. Enjoy his time while it lasted.

When Shido opened the bag, he found a 'spare key'. Proof that Reine was indeed his childhood friend. He looked at it before tearing up and calling out to her, knowing that she was still there... in his heart.

"Didn't you say that you'll treasure this, Rinne? Then don't leave this here! Take it with you too! If not... I can only accept the truth, huh? That you won't be there to wake me up. That you won't be there for me to praise the food you made. And that I... won't be able to see your smile ever again...! Why? Why does it have to be like this?! Didn't you say that you'd be my childhood friend for the rest of our lives... that you'll stay with me for years on end... Didn't you promise me that?!" Shido made one last cry to the sky.

_**"RINNE!"** _

The fabricated world disappeared, along with his memories of the world. The Daily Life that he spent with Rinne, the life he fought hard to protect... gone.

The world was dyed white, and was swallowed whole.

* * *

Shido returned back to his days... before Rinne. He had a power now. A power far too powerful for his own good, sleeping inside Shido.

What was this power? Nobody knew except him... One day he'll awaken it.

But as Mario was in Tenguu Park, staring off into the night sky, he had one thought on his mind.

"Princess Peach... Yoshi... where are-a you?"

This was an ending, but was it the ending they wanted?


	18. Worst Possible Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Origami's here again, and Shido has to make her... hate him! Good luck!

Things seemed normal after Rinne's incident. There was a normal city with normal people, having normal lives.

It's as if Rinne didn't exist at all.

Shido was stirring coffee inside a cafe, wearing a questionable shirt.

And in front of him... was Origami.

Shido stopped stirring and told Origami.

"I'm actually a lolicon. I go to the grade school in my neighborhood and check out the schoolgirls daily. My 'Sandalphon' was about to rampage on their innocent bodies.

Shido continued his bold remark with a smug look. "Man, grade schoolers are the best."

Origami just looked at Shido. "Is that so?" She looked down. Shido ensured he won the date... but then she said... "Good."

He was taken back. "What?!" He then coughed to try and lower her mood more. "That isn't everything. To tell the truth, I have a mother complex. I would kiss a picture of my mother every morning before school. And then when I get home, I put on baby clothes and babbled like a spoiled baby! With a pacifier and rattle of course!"

"Is that so?"

"I was actually a siscon too. Kotori would always let me sleep with her. When Kotori wasn't home, I snuck into her room and sniffed her towelket and wouldn't leave until I found her underwear..." Shido's sanity was starting to snap. "..and then put it on my face. That's the important part. It was critical!"

"Is that so?"

Shido grumbled. "And I was an unbelievable playboy. I've had about ten girlfriends so far. I went to places inappropriate for kids in the night where go-go girls were dancing twists and lambada. They were pouring champagne. Do you know it? Their aim is to dominate all girls in Tenguu!"

Origami breathed for a second.

_"She reacted!"_

"If you exterminate them all then there's no problem." She replied.

"What are you going to do? Listen, what are you going to do?"

Kotori chipped into Shido's earpiece. "What's with this frame of mind? Is she the ruler of the end of the century?"

"What should I do about it?" Shido whispered back.

"Don't start to cry now. Your date has only just started!"

Shido sighed. This was indeed their date.

How did he end up like this? Let's take a look back.

Into an OVA.

* * *

Mario sighed. "Seems like Shido and his-a friends got their memories wiped about Rinne..."

"I remember, Mario!" Luigi called out. "There was a tower... and guardians. Weird."

"Yeah. I-a know. Anyway, we're having a look around-a town today since we never properly got a chance to."

"Alright. Let's hope Tohka doesn't do anything stupid!" Luigi nervously chuckled.

* * *

Aaaand Tohka was being stupid. "Shidoooo! Look what I got!" She presented... a phone. "A cell phone!" Oh, sorry, a cell phone. "I learned that's what it's called!" Tohka was beaming when showing it to Shido, whom was just sitting in his desk. "Kotori gave it to me!"

"Good for you."

"She put your number in!" Tohka continued. "Can I call you?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Nice!" Tohka instantly went zooming off before Shido could realise it.

He stepped out of the classroom. "Tohka! Where are you going?"

"I'll call you from a distance!"

Shido simply chuckled at this. He turned and was immediately met with Origami.

"Shido." Of course, this startled Shido immensely. Origami continued. "I want to walk with you around town tomorrow."

"S-so you're basically saying.." Shido was brushing off what happened last time he saw Origami. The Efreet Incident.

"It's a date."

"Uh.. sorry, tomorrow's a little..." Shido didn't finish his sentence as Origami got closer.

"It's only natural that a lover would agree."

"I know, right..." Shido backed his head a little as Origami got too close.

She didn't even budge as she continued her proposal. "At 10 AM, I'll be waiting in front of the Obujo at West Tenguu Park." She then walked off.

Shido thought his problems were done but then heard Tohka running up to him. "Shidooo! How do I make a call?" She tried to show Shido the phone, but smacked his face instead. Shido went plummeting to the floor. "Oh, sorry!"

* * *

Ring ring, Kotori's phone was ringing.

"Hello, bro?" Since Kotori had white ribbbons, she was in sister mode.

"Origami asked me out on a date." Shido replied.

"Huh?" Kotori was fumbling around her hair, and Shido could hear it.

"What's going on?"

Kotori's voice went deeper. "Ignore it." In reality, she changed her ribbons to black, entering commander mode.

"But it was I who made her get the wrong idea that I love her. And I can't keep toying with her feelings."

Kotori sighed. "Guess we have no choice, then. Why don't we make her HATE you?"

"Huh?" Shido's voice went worried.

Their conversation passed (but it didn't go into much detail after that) and Kotori hung up.

"Excellent plan. Now I'll need to head out to Fraxinus. Hmm?" She turned to two familiar beings. Mario & Luigi. "Oh, hey, Mario Bros."

"Hey, Kotori." Luigi waved.

"Hello!" Mario also waved. "Yep! It's-a-me, Mario!"

"I need your help with something." Kotori smirked.

"...ah."

* * *

Origami was waiting at her set destination. Shido was hiding behind the tree in the park, unbeknownst to Origami. She wasn't moving a single muscle.

Kotori was still in communication with Shido. "What do you think of the clothes I gave you for the date?"

Shido was wearing a Ryouko shirt. (you know, from Tonomachi's dating sim) "Yeah, it's the worst."

"There's only a little more than an hour left until the date."

"Got it."

Kannazuki walked in. "The change in the AI setup has been completed."

Kotori continued instructing Shido. "We're going to direct you to the worst date possible, so go and get on that large boat."

"I'm counting on you." Shido was worried.

"You sent Tohka out on an errand, right?"

"Yeah. I sent her to go shopping for dinner."

"Well, I'll monitor her just in case."

"Right... so what will Mario do? You said he and Luigi were helping, right?" Shido then asked just before the 'date' started.

"Making the date awkward. Origami hates the plumbers so they'll barge in at the worst possible moments when they come up."

* * *

The date begun. Shido arrived VERY late. "Yo!"

Origami turned her head and saw Shido's sorry-looking outfit. "Thank goodness."

"Huh?" Shido removed his own confident attitude.

"I thought something bad may have happened to you." Origami tried guilt-tripping.

It was apparently REALLY effective this time.

"What are you doing?!" Kotori yelled in Shido's earpiece. "You aren't going to hurt your heart if you act like this!"

Shido nodded. Origami then noticed the elephant in the room. "Your clothes." Shido tried covering up, but Origami asked a different one. "What do you think of mine?" They were nice and simple, to say the least.

"Oh, you mean yours? They look good on you..."

"Why are you complimenting her?!" Kotori yelled again.

"...they don't loook good on you at all." Shido shrugged.

Origami's expression did not change. "What kind of clothes should I wear?"

Shido's options appeared. As you might expect, they were anything but favorable.

"Everyone, make your choice!" Kotori smirked.

Option 3 had the most votes, and Shido felt his stomach CHURN. He then said (and i apologise to you folks at home watching.) "I guess it'd be your school swimsuit with dog ears and tail." Shido braced for impact. He was sure Origami was gonna hit him. When Shido opened his eyes after NOT being hit, however, he found Origami to be... gone. He saw her coming back however... in the outfit he requested. "NO WAY!"

Shido was about to collapse but then he asked Origami. "Where the heck did you get those?!"

"There's a shop for that close to here."

Shido was entering a downward spiral. _"What has this city become?"_

"It's about time." She pointed to a sign that advertised the direction to the town.

"To town?"

Kotori was grumbling. "Why isn't her impression of him worsening." More unsightful options appeared for Shido to chose. "How nice. All of them are annoying. Make your choice." Everyone pressed a button, and then Kotori said to Shido, "Option 1."

Shido's stomach churned again. He shivered as he spoke the line (sorry again) "For a mongrel to walk around on two feet like us great humans... it's just ridiculous." He kept turning his head, seeing the judgemental stares of EVERYONE, including the Mario Bros. "Crawl on all floors!" Shido's signing a pact with the Devil at this point as he told Origami that with a straight face.

...but she said nothing and DID IT. Shido screamed once more. "HUUUUH?!"

Even KOTORI was surprised. "What the?!"

Everything went silent. Origami stood still, and then quickly took his belt off, and only gutter-heads knew where this story was goin'... except she wrapped it around her neck like a leash... giving the impression of a real dog.

"Woof."

Shido was going down even more of a downward spiral. He was completely motionless as gossipers talked about Shido and Origami.

"Is that couple really doing that?"  
"Um, they must be on a shoot or something..."  
"Mom, is that a dog?"  
"Don't look at them. Don't point at them either."

Shido jumped high into the air and got into a begging pose. "I'm sorry!"

"Woof."

Mario was GROANING and so was Luigi. "The things I hafta put-a up with..." Mario sighed while peeking from a bush.

* * *

And that lead them to the cafe. How did he end up like this? Now you know. Just like that, the plan failed.

Kotori grumbled, still in Fraxinus. "This is an impossibly difficult situation. The Mario Bros. can't even help at this rate."

Origami then stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom." MORE unsightful options appeared.

"Shido, pick option 3."

Shido muttered and replied lowly to Kotori. "Don't you feel pity for her?"

"Do it already. You want to settle this today, don't you?"

Shido stuttered as he spoke to Origami right as she was leaving. "I won't let you go."

Origami turned.

"I said I won't let you go." Shido repeated.

Origami replied still with no tone. "So you're saying I should do it here." Origami slowly reached to... go to the bathroom in public...

Shido jumped out of his seat to stop her. "Stooop!" He tripped on a chair and landed on his stomach... and found pieces of her clothing.

Now, what you're about to see is the age rating here getting increased.

"Do you want it poured on you?"

"Eh?!"

"Or maybe [CENSORED]?"

Yep. That was real. We're not even gonna show what she said THERE. Because that's nasty.

Kannazuki was rolling into a downward spiral himself. "She's a perveeeeert!"

Then he got kicked to the head by Kotori. "Look who's talking!"

* * *

Shido and Origami were walking down the streets. Shido wasn't walking, more like stumbling. "I'll go buy something to drink from a vending machine. Please wait for me here."

"Understood." Origami let go of his hand.

Kotori chipped into Shido's earpiece again. "She's a real monster. I checked her brain."

"I'm at my limit." Shido groaned.

"I know. We'll have to take the final measure. Shido. Become her real lover."

"Huh?"

"Once she assumes you're going out, tell her you're ditching her."

"Oh, I see. If she doesn't punch me after that, then there will be no end to our relationship."

"It's your one-shot game. Practice the line at once."

"Got it." Shido ended the conversation while Kotori switched monitors to Tohka.

"Aren't I doing a great job for my first time on an errand?" Tohka was praising herself. "Shido must pet my head for it! Only one more item left!" She then looked at the list. "Sata andagi. What's that? It sounds like a strong name. I wish I asked Shido about it... Oh right!" Tohka had a realisation. "These times call for a cell phone! If I recall, I need to look it up from the address book."

Meanwhile, Shido was practicing his speech. "I don't want to be with you anymore."

A voice came from the intercom."R-really?"

"Yeah. I'd like to end it between us."

"I wouldn't want that by any means!"

"Please understand it."

"Do you hate me now?"

"That's right. I hate you now."

...

Shido was confused. That voice wasn't Origami... Or Kotori...

"...who's there?" He asked. He then heard the crying and got the sudden realisation. This wasn't either Kotori or Origami. It was TOHKA. "Don't tell me, that voice...!" He then felt an explosion in the distance and he ran towards it. "It's her!"

"It's Tohka." Kotori repeated. "Her mental state dropped instantly. She's so scared, the flow of her Spirit mana has reversed."

"Then that voice I heard just now was...?!"

"We can connect you to the phone we gave Tohka in emergencies." Reine then commented. "If you call her, you'll be connected to the line."

Shido protested. "You never told me about that!"

Kotori raised her voice. "There's no time to sweat it now. She's in the shopping district, in the West Tenguu Park. Mario & Luigi are still there. Go there at once!"

* * *

Shido kept running. He got a message from Origami. He answered it.

"Shido, where are you now?"

"Origami, I'm sorry but please wait a little bit!" He ended the call and went to the park.

There he saw Mario. "I'm-a not sure what happened! Tohka came-a in, said some things... then exploded-a the park!"

Luigi was shivering. "Nearly gave me a heart attack..."

Then, Shido saw the exploded park, and Tohka in the middle of it. She was sobbing.

"Tohka!" Shido called out.

She turned to Shido. "Sh-Shido..."

"The things I said in that call were lies. Sorry."

"R-really?"

"Yeah."

"You don't hate me now...?"

"Of course I don't. There's no way I could hurt you."

"So we don't need to get seperated...?"

"Of course we don't."

"Can I stay with you forever?"

"You can stay with me forever."

Tohka rubbed her watery eyes. "Is that so? I figure it is." She then held out her shopping bags "How's this? I bought it all!"

"Oh, you're amazing!" The mood was instantly lifted. Mario breathed a HEAVY sigh of relief.

Tohka giggled and leaned her head in for her prize.

"Oh." Shido was about to pat her head but was immediately hugged by Origami. "O-Origami?!"

"Together forever." She spoke in a low tone.

"Huh?"

Tohka seperated both of them. "Leave him alone! He said it to me!"

"There's no way he would do that. It's certain he said it to me."

Shido's just in the middle of the rebuttal showdown. "What happened?"

Shido turned to look at his phone, to see Origami was still on the line. "Did she hear all that?"

And Kotori viewed Origami's stats. They were all at maximum.

Everyone clapped sarcastically at Shido.

* * *

Origami, the Demon Lord. On top of her Horse of Doom, she will surely spell disaster.

And Tohka, the ultimate Warrior, now buff times twenty, were about to have their final battle.

"Origami you idiiiioooot! Ora ora ora!" Tohka was rapidly punching... an arcade screen. The machine then exploded.

Yep, after the Origami incident, Shido was forced to date Tohka to calm her down. This was brought to an arcade. Mario & Luigi were forced to tag along too.

"Aaah! I feel relaxed!" Tohka did indeed look relaxed.

"What on earth?!" Shido was just confused. "Is it okay for her to do this?"

Kotori was still communicating with Shido. "If you have time for worrying, then go and escort Tohka. Your date has only just started."

Shido sighed. Today is the same as ever. The dates continue.

* * *

"What are you doing, Origami?!" Tohka yelled. Everyone was inside the school.

Origami was hugging Shido from behind. "I'm just together with Shido."

Tohka seperated Origami and Shido (again). "Don't fool around!"

"Don't get in my way."

"You're the one getting in my way!"

"The one who's getting in the way isn't me, but you."

"What did you say?! Don't talk in such an annoying way!"

"You're the one who's in the way."

Tohka was fighting Origami, and Shido was right next to his friend, Tonomachi.

"Yo."

"Oh.." Shido noticed Tonomachi's keychain. "That's..."

"Otto, you noticed? Heh heh. Isn't it cute? It's the rainbow seal, Ottoro. I got it yesterday in the game center."

"So you brought it yesterday?" Shido asked while the fight between Tohka and Origami still broke out. "I never knew about that."

"This animal is very popular in JK. There are also all kinds of animals you can choose from." Tonomachi held out his phone.

"Oh, I guess I like this one." Shido pointed at the panda shown at the phone.

"Pandalone the dream panda, huh?"

Tohka and Origami overheard that.

Shido's phone then decided to ring. "Ah, sorry."

"It's fine, go on. Talk as much as you want. I'll take the opportunity to talk to my girlfriend too." Tonomachi said as he looked at his phone. Right, his VIRTUAL girlfriend. Shido walked out to take the call.

Shido went outside of the classroom. "What's up, Kotori?"

Kotori yelled as usual. "What're you doing, lazy moron? Tohka's mood meter is plummeting!"

"Huh?"

"Don't huh me. Did you forget what we were talking about?"

Reine then added to their conversation. "If her mental condition becomes unstable, there will be a danger that the spirit powers you sealed will flow back to her. It would probably be a good idea for you to let out her stress."

"Let out her stress..." Shido repeated. "How?"

"Certainly, the quickest way would be..."

* * *

A date.

"Origami, you twit!" Tohka started firing the machine gun in the arcade game as she was imagining every enemy as Origami. Mario was forced to tag along again, but instead of Luigi, he brought Rabbid Luigi.

Tohka punched the screen after she was done, turning it into static. "Okay, next!"

Next up was a racing game. Mario would volunteer, but he's too good at racing. "Origami, you moron!" Tohka was the one piloting the racecar. She knocked the imaginary Origami off her kart.

Next was a pilot shooter. Tohka shot the other pilot.

Then was an 8-bit garden simulator. Tohka used a fire hose to knock back bombs that Origami threw. "Flat-chested."

Another racer. "Runt." She knocked Origami off again, Origami's kart exploding.

A zombie-shooter. "Female wolf!" She was having fun and then she pulled out a GRENADE.

"What the-?!" Mario was shocked. Tohka threw it, and the arcade machine was no more. Yes, Tohka broke a LOT of arcade machines.

"Hey, that's not okay!" Shido shouted.

Tohka turned to Shido. "Game centers are so nice, Shido!"

Replacement crew came for the arcade machine. Shido seemed to recognise them... from Ratatoskr.

"Of course." Kotori suddenly spoke. "We arranged it with the shop."

"This is most intriguing." Reine added. "Tohka's mood is getting better and better, but her uneasy levels remain high. It's possible she's worrying about something."

Kotori sighed. "Well, whatever. Let's just let her play more and see what happens."

Shido, Tohka, Mario & Rabbid Luigi were walking down the arcade. Tohka pointed a photo booth.

Kotori told Shido what to do. "Why not? Take a cute picture with her."

Shido sighed. "Will do."

* * *

Rabbid Luigi tugged at Mario's sleeve. "Huh?" Mario was confused when he saw the little guy tugging, as he was distracted with Shido. Mario turned to where Rabbid Luigi was pointing at got a massive shock.

Two twins with orange hair and questionable outfits, competitively playing a game with each other. They weren't just any twins though-

"Kaguya! Yuzuru!" Mario called out.

Thankfully (and coincidentally), they finished their game and turned to the noise. "Oh... It's the weird human and weird bunny creature." Kaguya was the first to speak.

"Shock. What a coincidence." Yuzuru replied, still in a robot tone.

"Yeah, hah hah, it's-a been a while." Mario chuckled. "So, is this another-a competition?"

"Yeah!" Kaguya shouted. "We're not settling our scores until we've reached our 100th duel!"

"...and is-a this your 100th duel?" Mario was bewildered.

"Answer. No." Yuzuru replied.

"...ah."

"Say, human!" Kaguya shouted again but quickly got deep. "What ARE you? Are you even HUMAN?"

"Ah."

"Cuz I was always wondering that, you know? You got a big nose."

"Well," Mario sighed, "First-a off, it's-a Mario... and that-a 'bunny' is Rabbid Luigi." He addressed Rabbid Luigi as Yuzuru was petting him. "And... I would-a like to believe I'm-a human." The air got tense as Mario got serious. "It-a doesn't matter much when your loved one is saved in the end."

Kaguya felt something. Her heart? Did it remind her of something? Meanwhile Tohka was yelling while inside the photo booth.

"Question. What is your plan now?" Yuzuru asked, still petting Rabbid Luigi.

"To save-a the world."

"Aaah. Well, there's one thing we gotta tell y-" Kaguya was about to tell Mario but Tohka quickly came out of the booth.

"Mario, Rabbid Luigi, we're leaving." Shido called out while stuffing a photo into his shirt pocket.

"A-ah... talk to you... some-a other time... Kaguya & Yuzuru.." Mario held out his hand.

Kaguya shook it. "See you some other time... Mario & Rabbid Luigi!"

* * *

Origami was playing a crane game, trying to win the panda to impress Shido.

"I heard there was some couple here who broke the arcade machines." The three gossipers were ALSO there. Ai, Mai and Mii.

"And it was the girl who broke them!"

"That's so lame."

The claw picked up Origami's present... and dropped it. She tipped her jar to get more money, only to find out she was out fresh.

"No more coins. I'll try it again later." Origami walked away.

As soon as she was off-screen, two mushroom-headed people also passed by the crane. Blue Toad & Yellow Toad.

"Can we get the panda?"

"No, we don't even have any currency suitable for this world!"

They also walked away.

As soon as they were off-screen, Shido and Tohka walked in.

"Make sure you check it when you're ALONE!"

"I get it."

Tohka suddenly stopped. She looked at the panda that was sticking out over Origami's last attempt.

Shido looked at it. "Do you like it? I can get you it if you want. Don't worry, you've played crane games countless times. You should be able to get this one."

"Alright!" She took a shot at the claw game. The claw went down, and... tipped the prize into the drop box since Origami was so close beforehand. "I did it, Shido!"

"Oh, how clever of you!" Shido praised her while she giggled. Shido bent down to collect the prize, only to find it wasn't there. "Oh, did it get stuck halfway through? I'll call an employee-"

Tohka punched the arcade machine, making Shido JUMP. The prize fell down all the way this time. Tohka picked it up. "Shall we go home, Shido?"

"Y-yeah."

Only then did Origami come back to a replacement claw machine.

* * *

Sunset skies. Tohka passed her prize to Shido. "I'm giving this to you, Shido."

"Huh? Why?"

"You know, uh... You know, right? How should I put it...?" Tohka was very nervous all of a sudden. "Please don't hate me." She got SERIOUS real quick.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Origami told me about it in the school... It's not possible for humans to accept Spirits who are perishing the worlds... That you... loathe Spirits as well."

Shido sighed. "So that was it."

"Is it really true?" Tohka had tears in her eyes.

"Of course not." Shido kept on smiling.

"For real?"

"For real."

"Really for real?"

"Really for real."

"Seriously really for real?"

"A thousand serious seriously for real. If I hated you, I wouldn't have gone on a date with you."

"I see. I thought so too." Tohka started smiling too.

"You should keep your prize." Shido spoke up. "It will remind you of today."

"I'll do so."

Kotori was monitoring the whole thing. "75 points. Shall we call it a success?"

"Yeah." Mario walked in, rubbing his head after a day's of hard work.

* * *

Tohka was beaming in class today and everyone was surrounding her.

"Tohka, you're quite lively today!" Tonomachi pointed out the obvious.

"Mhm! Shido took me to a fun place yesterday!"

"Oh, not bad for Itsuka..."

Tohka was reminded of the day. "There was hitting and I was in pleasure... it felt so good!"

...phrasing. Everyone looked at her, baffled.

The three gossipers were the first to lecture her.

"Shido?!"

"What did that pervert to do Tohka?"

"That's so l-"

Shido burst in. "Guys, it's just a misunderstanding! The place we were at was just an a-" Shido's picture that Tohka gave him slipped out of his shirt pocket. Ai grabbed at and the three gossipers looked at it.

"What is THAT?!"

"THAT'S SO LAME!"

Ai just passed it to Shido. "I'll give this back."

"Oh?" Oblivious Shido took it back. "Thanks. I put it in my pocket and I forgot it was there."

When Shido looked at the picture, nobody could tell you (not even myself) that the amount of fanservice preparing you were all training for led up to Shido staring at a photo of naked Tohka.

"EEEEH?!"

Tohka went to Shido. "Why'd you bring it with you?!"

"WHY ARE YOU NAKED?!"

"Reine told me to do so when I'm taking a photo!"

Shido's sanity balloon popped. He quickly got the heck out of Dodge.

There were class screams everywhere. "There's a pervert in the class!"

"MISUNDERSTANDING!" Shido plead as he ran. "MISUNDERSTANDING, I SAY! MISUNDERSTANDIIIING!"

He didn't get far as Origami stopped him. "Good morning."

Shido coughed as Origami pulled out her own prize she won from an arcade game. "I'll give this to you."

"Um.. don't mind me." Shido tried to assure her.

Origami got closer. "I'll give it to you."

Shido sweatted. "Th-thank you." As soon as he took it, she took a step back.

"They match up." Origami was happy as she pulled out a secondary prize.

Before Shido could even process that reality, Tohka came whistling in like a train. "Hey, Shido! Don't just leave my photo there!" She then noticed Shido's new prize. "Oooh? They match up!" Tohka pulled out Shido's prize he got for her. Everyone of the main trio was happy. Shido, Tohka and Origami.

Meanwhile...

* * *

"Are you sure you don't need help, Lord Junior?" A blue-robed wizard was in the city park with Bowser Jr. This wizard was Kamek. The third of the villain trio that invaded the incinerated Mushroom Kingdom.

"I gotta get my papa back! Something about him ain't right!" Junior spoke back, arrogant as ever. "Argh! If only we had the Koopalings! That could make splitting up so much easier!"

"Splitting up?" Kamek sighed. "Fine. I understand. May I wish you well, Lord Junior." And indeed, Kamek split up.

This was a four-way war between Mario, Fraxinus, the AST and Bowser's Minions.

Who gets to live in peace and harmony? Spirits or not?

Perhaps we'll never know.

Perhaps we'll _never_ know.

_**End of Season** _


	19. A New Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Season 2 bois let's go

Rocks were flying everywhere, butterflies were fleeing, the atmosphere was windy.. and a cyclone was crashing down.

This despair inducing event was a spacequake. A big tragedy that killed 150 million people and erased continents.

But that was the same day that the Mushroom Kingdom suffered too. As if the vortex was a time portal. 30 years later, Bowser became a Spirit.

The Mushroom Kingdom was incinerated. And he laughed.

The most uniconic duo must form their bond once more...

* * *

...an alarm was ringing annoyingly. Shido sleepily hit the snooze button. This was a day-off... so he could relax. Except a house-shaking explosion fully got him up. "Huh? What was that?!"

Shido ran outside the balcony, accompanied by Mario. They both saw the smoke raising from the Spirit Mansion.

"Mama-mia! It's a new-a threat!" Mario screamed. They ran. They burst through the door.

"Tohka! What's wrong?!" Shido shouted.

"Sh-Shido..." Tohka was quivering. "Sorry.. I dirtied the notes I borrowed from you..."

"What?"

"When I thought you would hate me for it.. I'm sorry..." Tohka cried more, unleashing purple Spirit energy.

"It's alright, Tohka! I won't hate you for something like that!"

The energy stopped. "R-really?"

"Yeah, really."

Mario breathed a sigh of relief. Until they got a chilling feeling from a few rooms across by a sudden ice burst. They ran across the room and belted into the bathroom.

"Yoshino!"

Yoshino was in a bath towel, pointing toward her bath. "Sh-Shido... Yoshinon.. is.." Stuck in a bath drain. "Yoshinon.. Yoshinon..." The bath water (thankfully not gamer girl bath water*) was freezing more and more.

"Calm down, Yoshino! If it freezes anymore, I won't be able to save Yoshinon!" Shido dipped his hand in the water, realised it was freezing cold, and then yanked out Yoshinon from the drain. It landed straight on Yoshino's hand.

"Heey, Shido! Thanks for saving me, as usual!"  
"T-thank you very much, Shido..."

Mario breathed a sigh of relief... and then another explosion! Mario ran but tripped over Rabbid Peach. Shido ran ahead.

"Sorry, Shido! This time I spilled the kinako.."

"It's alright! That's not gonna make me hate you!"

"BWAAAH!" Rabbid Peach was hitting Mario like crazy.

* * *

Origami quivered her lips slightly as she was awaiting punishment for what she did to Efreet.

"We will be taking action against Origami Tobiichi."

Surprisingly, Ryouko defended her. "Please wait! That's-!"

Just then, a man and a woman walked in. The most notable one, the man, had a dark suit with a white tie and ash-spiky hair. "Oh, is this a bad time?"

"Mr. Westcott?!"

The man's creepy grin widened.

* * *

Kotori was lecturing Shido again. "I'm always telling you to be careful because Spirit power returns to Spirit if they become emotionally unstable! It's because you slept in that this whole thing happened." Kotori lectured him while he was putting away plates.

Shido yawned. "Give me a break. I was up late studying for my tests last night." He yawned again.

"I still have work to do, so I'm heading out first. Make sure you spend time with those two since you actually have a day off. And don't forget the intercom. Just in case."

"But I have to study... besides, our school trip is coming up, so I have to get ready."

Tohka, of course, misheard this information. "Sugar tripnut?! Is it sweet?!"

"Uh.. no.. it's not sugar.."

Kotori started to walk away. "Anyway, I'm counting on you."

* * *

In the nearby estate of AST...

"...that's good to hear, Origami!" Two other people were talking to Origami.

"It's a miracle that you got off with a two-month suspension after all you did."

Origami blatenly replied. "I agree."

"...but, why did such an important person at DEM help you?"

Origami's emotions didn't change.

* * *

Everyone was eating dinner at the Itsuka household. Shido got a message from Origami to meet her outside.

Shido stood up. Tohka took notice. "What's wrong, Shido?"

"Nothing, just going shopping for a bit. What do you want for lunch?"

Yoshino quietly raised her hand "Oyakodon..."

"I'll go with you, Shido." Tohka insisted.

"It's all right. Take your time eating breakfast. I'll be right back."

"See you later, then!"

"Hey, Yoshino!" Yoshinon spoke up. "It's time for our favourite soap opera!" After hearing that, Yoshino looked at the TV, and changed channels from a weather warning featuring two hurricanes, and then the drama soap opera appeared.

"Are you really leaving?"

"Yeah. I'm tired of my life with you."

* * *

Shido went out the front door and saw Mario, Luigi & the Rabbids. "Oh, you guys out too?"

"Yeah." Mario nodded. "We got a mysterious message asking-a us to go to a specific location."

"Sounds fishy." Shido thought. "Will you be alright?"

"I'm not a child, Shido." Mario huffed.

"He is on the inside!" Luigi added and then laughed. Mario elbowed him to shut up.

Shido looked to the side, noticing Origami. "Uuuh... I'll talk to you guys later."

Everyone waved at Shido their goodbyes as he approached Origami.

Mario chuckled. "So... let's-a-go to this specific location!"

Everyone nodded, as they set off while Shido was awkwardly talking to Origami.

They stepped down the residential stairs into the forest, entering the big city via the forest park. "Is nobody gonna comment how FISHY this whole scheme is?" Luigi spoke up.

"Shido just did." Mario replied. They then headed down a back alley and noticed a GIANT shutter. "Apparently this is-a the place." He knocked on the door.

Everyone, including the Rabbids, were silent with anticipation. This whole build-up lead to this moment. The shutter door opened. Mario & Luigi nearly choked. There was a man, no higher than they were, with crazy goofy glasses and a tooth out his lips. He had minimum white hair and he wore a lab coat. Luigi recognised this person more than Mario.

The stranger spoke. "Woah, hey Mario. Been a while! I've been cooped up here for a while! Heh heh!"

"E. Gadd?!" Luigi yelled out.

"Yeah. It's me. Surprised? I got more."

"MORE?!" Mario couldn't believe it. When he peeked further into E. Gadd's lab, he saw a giant gorilla wearing surfer's clothing and sunglasses, folding his arms.

"Funky Kong too?!" Luigi couldn't believe it.

"Yo, cut me some slack!" Funky spoke in his tubular voice. "I ain't that special, G-dog!"

Mario looked deeper. He also saw a disc with bunny ears. The Rabbids gasped.

"Beep-O too?!" Three-in-one!

"Hey, Mario! It's been a while, but now I'm... in this anime dimension, it seems." Beep-O did a robotic cough.

Mario walked in. "Alright, guys, tell me what-a happened."

E. Gadd turned on his computer. "Well, it all started long ago..."

* * *

While the professor was monologuing, a certain young Koopa and a certain blue wizard were roaming the streets.

"Lord Junior, I understand the curiosity, but this doesn't seem safe..." The blue wizard was Kamek, and he was following (slowly) a very energetic young Koopa, despite having been defeated mere episodes ago.

"Nonsense! We'll find Papa and THEN we'll trounce Mario together!" Junior jumped around.

"Hmm?" A mysterious figure perked up, in a dark and edgy cloak. "Did I hear about the famous hero Mario?" Surprise surprise, this figure had a female voice.

Bowser Jr. and Kamek turned to the voice. "Yeah?" Junior spoke up. "None of your business."

The figure lifted her head up, revealing her face. She had brown hair, a brown eye and... a golden clock eye?! Kurumi, so far, is the only one with that... The clock eye on this person seemed to be behind her monocle that she was wearing.

"That's a freaky eye..." Kamek was alert.

"What, does it remind you too much of Kurumi?"

"Who?"

The figure sighed. "Never mind." Suddenly, the streets emptied out, as it was just Junior, Kamek, and the figure.

"Hey, edgy lady! What's your name!" Junior shouted.

The figure smiled. "What if I don't tell you?"

"What's your name?"

"I just said-"

"What's your name?"

"Stop th-"

"What's your name? Huh? Huh huh?"

"Hey! I'm t-"

"Heeeey! What's your naaaame?!"

"Okay, fine! Fine! I'll tell you!" She wheezed heavily. She pulled down her cloak.

There was a young-looking woman, with her brown hair all over the place. The back reached her waist, and there was a drill ponytail on her right. Her left sported a cute little black tophat. Her outfit had a brown bow, with a pale Steampunk-era outfit. As said before, her monocle was protecting her clock eye, which was golden just like Kurumi's.

"Just call me Aiana." The figure did a cutesy bow, now that her outfit had been revealed to be a Steampunk-era royal dress.

"I assume you're not like the Spirits?" Kamek raised a brow.

"No, no. I come from the future." Aiana just smiled.

"You're weird, even for this world's standards." Junior also raised a brow.

"I'm frequently told." She kept smiling.

"Anywho, what's your dealio with Mario?" Junior suddenly got serious.

"He'll be meeting me soon." She breathed. "But let me just say... the wrath of Mio will be your turnaround to become good guys."

"Good guys?" Junior was curious.

"Mio?" Kamek was curious.

Aiana walked forward to Junior and handed him a pocket watch. "Keep this. When all things fail, you will be teleported back here."

"All things fail?" Junior was confused. "You are acting like you rule time or something."

Aiana giggled. "Who says I don't?"

Junior sighed. "It's cuz you said you're from the future and I don't buy that one bit."

She also sighed. "Very well. Don't cry to me when Mio, Spirit or Arian come tearing you apart."

Kamek was confused at two more names. "Spirit? Arian?"

Aiana shrugged. "Well... uh... yeah. There's a spiritual spirit named Spirit. Talk about consistency."

"I'm-"

"Ssshhh.. You'll fight Mario real soon. Be prepared." Aiana put her hand on Junior's shoulder.

...and then she was gone.

"..."

"Welp." Kamek broke the silence. "I told you sticking together was a good thing."

"Y-yeah... Let's... keep this pocket watch, hmm?"

"Agreed."

* * *

_Bowser absorbed the Sephira Crystal, and then became Efreet._

_That much is fact._

_But was it really his fault?_

_He turned into a mass murderer with flame powers..._

_...because he was desperate._

_Desperate for a chance to change history._

_Kurumi could've stopped Bowser, but she didn't. Something bigger was coming._

_But when Bowser went out to destroy Mario and change his fate... he only sealed it._

_One often meets their destiny on the road they take to avoid it._

* * *

"So that's-a why she felt so familiar.." Mario was thinking about Kurumi.

Luigi was shocked. "She was in OUR world! And she witnessed Bowser!"

"Yeah, dudes." Funky Kong folded his arms. "That giant vortex pulled Donkey-dude, myself, and Diddy."

Mario peered out the window to see Shido chasing after Tohka while the others were chatting.

"So..." Blue Toad pondered. "Who else is important that DEFINITELY got pulled in?"

Luigi thought too. "The princess and Yoshi are definite candidates. I think Mario mentioned Bowser Jr. here too. I haven't seen Kamek yet but he HAS been pulled in."

Yellow Toad turned to E. Gadd, Funky Kong and Beep-O. "Are you guys joining us on our adventure?"

The professor shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't. I have to stay with these two to see if we can figure out a way home."

"Ah."

Everyone then turned to Mario. Blue Toad spoke again. "What's eating him?"

Mario sighed and turned back to the group. "I'm-a worried about the princess and-a Yoshi. That's-a-all."

Yellow Toad turned. "What IS eating him?"

Blue Toad smirked. "Mario's having princess issues."

The Rabbids just shrugged.

* * *

Bowser Jr. was just walking down a quiet street district with Kamek. No luck so far...

Until they saw citizens fleeing. Junior got childish. "Gwah hah! Roooar!" He scared them off with his childish roars... until he felt vibrations in the earth. Junior and Kamek quickly got punted aside to a lower district.

"Huh?" Kamek was confused and then he looked up. There...

He saw a familiar face. A giant dragon turtle monster, having a flame aura, stomping around the upper district. He staggered his movements as he made his way down the town. Then, after a few minutes of staggering, he was out of sight.

Junior peeked from the shadows. "Was that... papa...?!"

"That was Lord Bowser." Kamek was just as as surprised as Junior, sporting the same shocked face as Junior did. The chaos that this one area had in three districts.

Shido chasing Tohka in one...

Bowser stomping down in another...

and then Junior and Kamek taking cover in the third one.

"He seems different somehow..." Kamek pondered.

"Yeah, I bet it's the flames." Only NOW Junior was getting smart.

Then they heard the worst thing to happen. A SPACEQUAKE ALARM.

"Huh? What's that noise?" Junior was completely innocent to it.

"I don't know, Lord Junior, but there was a schoolboy chasing a glowing purple girl." Kamek pointed to Tohka, who was running to the park.

"Aaah... right! Do the sirens mean anything?"

"Probably noth-"

"WAIT, SCHOOLBOY?!" Junior was furious.

* * *

"Tohka!" Shido finally caught up to Tohka in the park. Tohka was wearing her Astral Dress, presumably due to being upset.

"Shido...?" Tohka turned to Shido. "How did you know...?"

"How could I not know?" Shido asked. "This is the place where we had our first k-" That's right, this is the park where Shido sealed Tohka. It had been fixed since her last rampage, but looks like she's about to cause another.

"Do you want it back that badly?!" Tohka interrupted him and Shido saw his suitcase next to Tohka.

"What...?"

"You're going, no matter what...?"

"Going WHERE?"

"You don't have to pretend!" Tohka shouted. "I know everything! If you say you're going no matter what..." She stomped her foot and the throne of Sandalphon instantly rose with the suitcase on it's seat. She went up and grabbed the sword from the throne, then pointed it at Shido. "Then you can go once you have defeated me!" She declared.

"What are you TALKING about, Tohka? I'm not going anywhere!" Shido started to shout back.

"Wh-what?!"

"There's no way I could! I still have to make dinner for you and Yoshino! And I still have tests to study for!"

"But... aren't you tired of being with me?" Tohka was confused.

"I didn't say anything like that."

"But then what's this box?" She turned to Shido's suitcase. "This is the goodbye box that means we can't be together anymore! You brought this with you when you met Origami!"

"That's not how it is." Shido kept a stern tone. "That is the suitcase I'm going to go on the school trip with you next week."

"W... with me...?"

Shido relaxed his angry face and turned it into a smile. "Yeah. With you."

"Then, does that mean you're not tired of being with me? It's okay for us to be together, right?!"

"Of course."

Tohka kept pointing Sandalphon at him. She lowered it. Shido saw this as a sign of peace and slowly walked towards her. As he did, purple energy was flowing around Tohka. They then sent a shockwave after Shido. He panicked a bit as he got hit. He fell down.

"SHIDO! Are you okay?!" Tohka yelled.

"What's happening...?!" Shido was confused.

At that point, a certain plumber reached the top. Shido turned. "Mario?! Where have you been?!"

"Where have-a YOU been, Shido?!" Mario was sweating.

"Long story, tell you later."

"Ah... What's-a wrong with Tohka?" Mario turned, which Tohka was still glowing.

"I don't know!" Tohka screamed. "What is this? I'm not doing anything!" Shido had scars and cuts on his face.

"I know... I'm sorry, Tohka..." He got up and trudged to Tohka. Every time he took a step, a blasting wave of spirit mana came to attack him. It eventually knocked away Mario's hat.

"My hat!"

"Get it!" Shido yelled. "I'll get Tohka!" Shido walked towards Tohka. More mana waves came.

"Shido! Stop! Don't come any closer!" The mana waves were cutting and scarring Shido's clothes. Tohka kept yelling at him to stop.

"Don't say that!" Shido had pure determination to keep going. "Wait for me. I'll DEFINITELY make it to where you are!"

Tohka gasped as Shido kept approaching her.

_"I'm the one who made you anxious."_

_"Even after promising I would always accept you..."_

_"I couldn't ease your worries..."_

"So at least... At least...!"

"Shido.." Tohka called out.

"Take my hand! I'll promise it'll be alright this time!" He reached out his hand for her to take. Tohka was speechless as she reached back for him. At that point, the Spirit Mana basically exploded, and Shido was sent high up into the air.

"SHIDO!" Mario called out.

Shido didn't even scream. He kept reaching out his hand, while still being launched into the air. He opened his mouth, but not a scream surfaced. Tohka was speechless too. She reached back for him, dropping Sandalphon. Using the exploding Spirit Mana, she propelled herself into the air, still reaching out. Eventually, after enough reaching, they clasped hands again. They span around within the air, Spirit Mana circling them as they held hand-to-hand. But hand-holding would have to wait, as Shido immediately kissed Tohka to reseal her. All the spirit mana gathered and eventually dispersed, leaving Tohka to her average, everyday clothes. They floated down, sunset filling the city like it did when they had their first kiss.

"Well, I suppose you found-a your knight in shining armor?" Mario chuckled lightly, getting his hat back.

"Yeah..." Tohka's smile widened. "I have my Mario."

* * *

A certain demon was stomping down the districts, the night getting darker. "Gwaaargh." The beast roared. "I will get revenge on Mario..." This beast was Bowser, the flame spirit Efreet taking over his body at this point, with no rational thought behind those blood red eyes. "I'm also hungry. Maybe I'll chow down later." Bowser then felt a rumble. "Huh...? Who dares interrupt me?"

Bowser looked up into the sky, some clouds splitting apart on their own. He detected it using his Spirit Power. An airship that's not his own.

"Oooh... Nice to meet you again, Isaac." He jumped onto the roof, slamming down with his fist to land on it. There, he saw a certain goth girl figure behind her with a nightmare red dress and twin black uneven twintails. Kurumi Tokisaki was here too.

"I knew I recognised Efreet." Kurumi didn't even turn back.

"You're hard to please." Bowser joked back. "What do you offer for happiness?"

"Shido's body." Kurumi smiled.

"I'll pass on that." Bowser grumbled. "I don't even know who this Shido is."

Kurumi's shadow retracted, for before, it had been used to suck out the time of unconscious people inside a building. "Ah, you only know Mario. I forgot he was in this world. I suppose that's _her_ fault for opening the portal to our world, hmm?"

"Her?" Bowser's gazed narrowed.

As if to answer, a PRESENCE was behind them. Bowser and Kurumi turned to face it.

**"How'd it go? With them?"**

That glitchy voice rang through Bowser's ears. Bowser growled at the figure...

if you could even call it a figure. It's as if a chance of noticing it is bare minimum. As if it were just some noise, or glitch in a video game... but this glitch was intentional. A glitch figure. An unknown gender... an unknown pitch...

It was Phantom again.

"Not good." Both Bowser and Kurumi said.

**"Have you given up on them?"** Phantom kept a straight face, despite it's glitchy appearance.

"For Shido? Fufu... How could I? I need his power to use the Twelfth Bullet." Kurumi scoffed.

Bowser folded his arms. "As for me? I need to stop Mario. He gets in the way in my plans to incinerate the Mushroom Kingdom."

**"Vile plans..."** Phantom sighed. **"But why does Kurumi want the Twelfth Bullet?"**

"To travel back in time and meet the First Spirit. My plan is to kill it."

Phantom stiffened her cold face.

"And my plan?" Bowser chuckled. "My plan is to get rid of the ONE person who caused me to suffer with Efreet." Bowser threw a punch straight down at Phantom.

But the glitch was already gone.

"..."

"You." Bowser roared at the invisible Phantom. Vengeance was about to be served _**COLD.**_

* * *

**This took AGES, but I wanna get back into the swing for the grand opening of Season 2. See you soon.**

***Belle Daphine**


	20. Arubi Island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A far-off city that's not their home? Mario's going to a tropical island, and it ain't Yoshi's or Isle Delfino!

A casual airplane ride.

Shido was not enjoying it.

A stormy boat ride.

Mario was not enjoying it.

What happened? Let's cut back to a few days ago.

* * *

"What do you think, Tamae?" Tohka's voice was a bit lower than usual. When looking at it closely, Tohka was not wearing a usual skirt, but rather trousers. "I... I am a man now! You can put me in the same room as Shido for the school trip!"

"T-that's not necessary, Yatogami..." Tamae was nervous. "Even if you wear those clothes, boys and girls must be in separate rooms."

A monotone voice spoke up. "I'd like you to approve this request." It was Origami.

"Eh?! What are you after?!"

"Nothing. However, to balance it out, we should make Shido into a girl."

Now Shido was just becoming irritated. He cleared his voice and then shouted. "Boys and girls will be in separate rooms! And no gender swapping!"

Tohka and Origami grumbled at each other. Tamae nervously spoke up. "Uh, well, putting rooms aside, you can choose your seats on the plane... Why not sit together there?"

They glared at each other. Shido sighed.

* * *

"The location changed?" Kotori was surprised. "Okinawa to Arubi Island, huh? Seems like the change was sudden."

A sleepy voice replied. "A travel agency said they would cover all costs in order to get publicity shots and presented these extraordinary conditions to the school."

"Sounds suspicious." Kotori thought to herself. "Wasn't the agency with DEM Industries?"

* * *

Mario was gawking at a giant boat that E. Gadd built with the help of Funky Kong. "Okie-dokie, what-a the heck?!"

"Well, your trip to Okinawa might be a chance for you to run into Bowser again." The crazy professor chuckled.

"Huh?" Mario tilted his head. "You know of a way to-a beat him?"

"Yes." E. Gadd tilted his glasses. "Aside from the regular sealing, there's a chance that brute force MIGHT work."

"M-might?" Luigi peeked out from behind Mario. "That doesn't sound very assuring."

"You're the Mario Bros."

"Fair point." Mario laughed. He then jumped onto the boat with his awesome parkour skills. He jumped on one plank and then did a wall jump. When he was on a higher plank, he did a backwards jump, leaping up into the air and landing on the main part of the boat. "Come on, Luigi!"

"We're going? What about the Toads, Rabbids and Donkey Kong?"

"They'll catch up with us when we-a return! Come on!"

Instead of being a parkour master, Luigi just... waited for a plank to come down, then he walked on it, getting onto the main part. "A-alright." The plank retracted into the boat.

"Wait, who's driving?" Luigi looked at the wheel, and then two Toads came into view. Blue and Yellow.

"We'll catch up?" Blue Toad mocked. "We're already here!"

"We distracted the Rabbids and Donkey Kong." Yellow Toad added. "Blue will be driving. We're going!"

"Okay, fine." Mario shrugged. He then looked out to the ocean and sighed to himself. "Brute force, huh?"

"Did you say something, Mario?" Luigi asked him.

"No no, it's-a fine."

"We're off, then!" Blue Toad declared as the boat went off the dock. As the boat's rear faced E. Gadd, Mario and Luigi peered over and waved goodbye to him. The professor waved back.

"Oh yeah! Here we go!" Mario did a classic phrase as the boat set sail.

* * *

The sky was blue, there was an airplane heading for a different destination than Mario right now. It was the life, so to say.

"An airplane going to a croissant island?" Luigi perked up.

"Yeah, apparently that's-a Arubi Island?" Mario questioned.

"Oi..." Blue Toad was worried. There was sudden wind. REALLY heavy wind. "Where did this wind come from?"

Mario noticed the wind was circling around them. "A tornado?! This isn't Arizona!"*

"Mario!" Luigi clinged onto Mario like the scaredy cat he is.

"Blue Toad!" Mario shouted. The clouds were getting dark as a thunderstorm was brewing. "Get us out of this!"

"Easy for you to say!" Blue Toad shouted back while constantly steering the wheel.

Yellow Toad and Luigi were screaming their lungs out while flailing about.

"Okay, just keep-a going forward! We can beat-a this storm!"

"Right-e-o, Mario, you just keep on the lookout for- **WOAH!** "

A sudden lightning strike hit the boat and lost a major chunk.

"Mama-mia! We lost the b-" A lightning strike then hit Mario himself. He got launched off the boat.

 **"MARIO!"** Everyone screamed, with Luigi being the loudest.

* * *

Mario's unconscious body could only hear waves crashing on a shore... Footsteps approached them.

"You think he's dead?" He heard an annoying ear-grating voice say.

"I really hope so. Oh, look, Beanpole is here too." There was another annoying voice. Two annoying voices. Great.

"Luigi? Never saw 'em. I was just expectin' MARIO to be dead."

"Should we help 'em up?"

"Heck no! Leave 'em here!"

Mario's eyes widened. Luigi was on the shore too? And they were going to leave his little bro to die?! He instantly got up. "Hey, that's-a my b-" And then Mario froze in his tracks when he saw who he was scolding.

A fat short man (about Luigi's height) with an ugly nose, jagged mustache, a yellow hat and purple overalls. A 'W' was on his hat. The other annoying voice was a lanky tall skinny guy (way taller than Luigi) with all purple. The same ugly nose and jagged mustache was on the man too. The emblem on his hat was an upside-down L. Mario and Luigi's greatest rivals.

 **"Wario?! Waluigi?!"** Mario couldn't take it in.

"Waaaaah!" The Wario Bros yelled.

"Aaaaaaah!" The Mario Bros yelled.

"Could you four stop screaming?!" Blue Toad and Yellow Toad finally caught up. "The Wario Bros. pestered us as soon as we crash landed too! Thankfully we woke up first!"

The four greatest rivals of all time stared each other down.

Mario was the first to speak up. "Never-a thought you two would get into that vortex, especially with-a Wario."

"Hey, you ain't skinny yourself, Fatso!" Wario retaliated.

Everyone grumbled until they felt another wind storm coming. This time it was more like a hurricane. Mario looked up at the sky as it was turning cloudy once again. "Mama-mia! Are we in-a Florida now?!"

Wario pointed to an airport. "Quick! We'll take cover in there and THEN settle our dispute!" The quartet ran ahead with Luigi trailing behind and looking behind himself. He saw the Toads duck for cover in the remains of the boat. Luigi nodded to himself that they would be fine, as he rushed inside the airport before the wind got TOO strong.

* * *

They rushed inside the airport and slammed the door when they all got in.

"Temporary truce?" Wario asked.

"Yeah." Mario wiped sweat off his forehead and gathered his breath back. He then looked up and held his breath again.

There was all the Raizen High Students in the building, looking at the four plumbers.

The three gossipers (you know them well) stepped forward.

"Ohmigod, what is that?!" Ai spoke.

"Ew, two of them have purple noses!" Then Mai.

Waluigi pinched his own nose. "It's more like pink to be honest..."

"That's so lame..." And finally, Mii.

Tamae stepped up. "Wh-what is the meaning of this...?"

Mario stepped up too. "We're-a associates of-a Shido Itsuka."

"Shido Itsuka?" both Tamae and Origami replied, with the latter lowering her eyebrows. Origami has a grudge on Mario too.

"Yeah..." Luigi spoke up. "Any idea where he is?"

Tamae panicked. "Now that you think about it... No, I haven't!"

Wario looked outside the window of the airport. "Good news. The hurricane stopped."

"That was-a quick." Mario looked out and saw four silhouettes. He noticed one of them had blue hair. "Is that-a Shido now?"

Origami, Tamae, Mario and Luigi rushed out onto the now sun-lit airport road. What Origami scanned was two of the figures having orange hair and they were sandwiching Shido. The fourth figure was an unconscious Tohka on Shido's back.

"H-hey..." Shido twitched. "We're back..." He then turned his head to the two plumbers. "Wha?! Mario?! Luigi?! I thought you were back in Tenguu City!"

"We were," Mario sighed "We were-a gonna go to Okinawa, but our-a ship crash landed here due to a tornado!"

"A tornado?!" One of the orange-haired figures gasped. "Way to commit, Yuzuru!"

"Doubt: That tornado was definitely your doing, Kaguya." The other orange-haired figure.

"Wait a minute." Mario put two and two together. "Kaguya! Yuzuru! What the heck?!"

Then THEY put two and two together and looked at Mario. Kaguya spoke first. "Mario! Been a while! What a coincidence we keep running into each other! Maybe this is fate's dark doing?" She did a cool pose.

"Query: Where is the bunny?" Yuzuru tilted her head at Mario.

"Ah, he's-a staying at the Itsuka Residence."

Shido seemed to sigh of relief when he heard that news. "Ah. For a minute, I thought there was more of you Mushroomy folk out here."

Wario and Waluigi jumped in front of the plumber duo and faced Shido. "WAAAAAAAH!" They yelled.

"AAAAAAH!" Shido yelled back.

Kaguya also screamed while Yuzuru just widened her eyes.

Luigi twirled to the front of the Wario Bros. and knocked them back to behind Mario with his hammer. "Oh yeah!" He did a thumbs up at the camera.**

"So..." Mario sighed, twitched his eyebrows and turned back to the twins. "So what-a are you two doing with-a Shido?"

Kaguya spoke first. "Well, isn't it obvious? It's obvious to ME that I'm more charming than Yuzuru, Shido!"

Yuzuru spoke back. "Seduction: Please choose me." The twins were right up into Shido's face.

Everyone just eyed the three. Mario finally spoke the one question that everyone had in their mind.

"What gives?"

Shido was sweating bullets.

* * *

And the answer given by Reine was... "They are transfer students."

Tamae was with Reine. "Those two girls? But I didn't hear anything from the school..."

"It was sudden, so they probably couldn't contact you in time." Reine was lying about them being Spirits, but she couldn't afford to let Tamae know. "Please leave the girls to me. You can take care of the students, Okamine."

"Okay..." Tamae just watched as Reine entered a door.

* * *

Behind that door, the two orange-haired twins were still surrounding Shido. "Now Shido, all you have to do is simple..." Kaguya was clinging onto him. "Just say 'Oh Kaguya, you drive me wild! Let me offer myself to you, body and soul!'"

"Negative: Nothing good will come of choosing Kaguya." Yuzuru retorted. "Please feel free to vote for me."

Shido's eyebrows were rapidly twitching during all of this. Reine was in front of Shido and finally said. "Feeling a little smothered, are we?"

"Yeah."

* * *

"So." Mario folded his arms. "What are they-a doing?"

"From what I heard..." Wario recollected. "It's their 100th duel! Attractiveness contest."

"100th Duel.." Mario definitely heard that come from the twins before.

"Why is the number 100 so important to them?" Waluigi complained.

"It's-a their final duel."

* * *

"Now, Shido, just say it." Kaguya got closer "Who do you think has more feminine charm? Yuzuru or me?"

Yuzuru also got closer. "Question: Who is cuter? Poor Kaguya or me?"

"What's the deal with only kind of speaking ill to me?"

"Ignore: I am cuter than pitiful Kaguya."

"What are you doing, making it worse?!"

Shido finally cracked and yelled. "Would you two shut up for one second?!" He took a breath and looked at them. "Let me ask you something first, why are you guys dueling anyway?"

Kaguya looked confused. "Oh, we didn't tell you?"

"Forgetful: We forgot to tell you. As the judge, you have the right to know." Yuzuru then started. "Kaguya and I were once a single Spirit."

"The Spirit's name was Yamai."

* * *

Meanwhile, a very similar scenario was happening on the TV back at the Itsuka Residence. Yoshino and the Rabbids were watching a drama.

_"Pick me!"_

_"No, pick me!"_

Yoshino yawned and Rabbid Peach was already fast asleep.

* * *

Shido was processing all the information. "So basically, for reasons not important at the moment... you two will one day need to go back to being a single Spirit. But when that happens, the personalities of both Kaguya and Yuzuru cannot coexist."

"Indeed. The original personality of Yamai has long been lost." Kaguya confirmed. "Either Yuzuru or I-only one of us-will become the new Yamai."

Yuzuru continued. "Explanation: In order to determine who that will be, we have fought for many years.  
Fistfight,  
Footrace,  
Kendama,  
Eating Contest.  
We have competed in various ways."

"Those last two were way less intense." Shido furrowed his eyebrows. "What happens to the personality that loses?"

"It will cease to exist." Kaguya got cold.

Shido gasped and turned to Kaguya. "No way!"

Kaguya just clinged closer to Shido. "We're grateful to you, Shido. Because of you, we can compete in a way such we have never before."

Yuzuru also got closer. "Affirmative: I have no objections if the final decision is made through this match."

Shido was struggling, and Reine was no help. All she did was look at her tablet. "Not good."

"Is something the matter?" Shido spoke up to Reine.

"Yes. I have not recieved any communications from Fraxinus in hours."

Shido gulped some sweat.

"The reason is unclear. I will look into it." She then looked at the Yamai twins. "Now, ladies, if you could, please come with me? Shin is tough to break. I will show you how to deal with him."

* * *

"Great." Shido was talking to himself as he made his way down a walkpath of Arubi Island, heading towards the hot springs. "Two new Spirits show up and Reine and I have to fly solo. What is Reine even telling them anyway?" He was walking down the path when he saw two short men going up the path, the red and green duo of Mario and Luigi.

"Ah, Mario, green guy, where's the other two?" Shido tilted his head and questioned.

"Ah, you mean Wario and-a Waluigi." Mario answered. "They're at-a the Airport Cafe." Mario's flashbacks showed Wario clearing ALL the plates due to his gluttony, with Tohka being an even match for him.

"Where are you going?" Luigi asked.

"Ah, to the hot springs. I need a break."

"Ah." Luigi got the idea. "Well, we'll see you-" Suddenly, a theme of the Gamecube Luigi's Mansion played. Luigi fumbled around. "Who's calling me?"

"Huh?" Mario and Shido were both confused.

Just then, Luigi pulled out a certain duel-screen device.*** "Yello?"

On the screen was none other than the nutty professor, E. Gadd. "Luigi, there you are! The signal was finnicky, but I finally got through!"

"Finnicky?" Luigi questioned.

"Yeah, like a deliberate signal jam."

"Wonder what that's-a all about." Mario pondered.

"Ah, a blue schoolboy at the back?" E. Gadd pointed out.

"Shido Itsuka." The boy introduced himself.

"Wait, Shido? Where are you all right now?" E. Gadd then questioned.

"Arubi Island." Shido replied.

"Yeah, we all got swept by a tornado." Luigi confirmed.

"Probably from the Yamai." Shido then commented which made Mario tilt his head. "Yamai?"

"Oh, you know, the orange-hair twins."

"Ah."

"And the boat?!" E. Gadd was worried more for the boat than for the bros.

"The Toads are fixing it." Luigi sighed.

"Well, hurry back to the lab when you can get back. I'll see if I can hack into the system and bring you guys via any security cameras nearby if necessary. Funky Kong and I are working on a device that'll send us all back to the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Sounds-a good." Mario winked.

"Alright, see you boys later."

"Ciao." Luigi sent E. Gadd off by powering off his device and putting it in his pocket.

"Who... was that?" Shido was left confused.

"Professor Elvin Gadd." Luigi confirmed while looking down the horizon, and saw the Yamai. "Looks like somebody's waiting."

Shido looked down that path. "Ah, gotta go! Bye!" He sped off.

"Man, Shido.." Mario rubbed his own head. "Let's-a-go." He ran back to the airport which Luigi quickly sped along.

Meanwhile, Shido caught up to the Yamai. "Ah, you guys." He saw them standing in front of the hot springs.

Kaguya folded her arms. "Shido, I grant you permission to cleanse the impurities of everlasting darkness you have accumilated."

Yuzuru was also folding her arms, but not as boldly. "Translation: Please enter the bath."

Shido looked at the place with a blue sign labelled 'Men' with a door behind the sign.

"But why tho?"

* * *

Oh. That's why. Shido was currently in the bath with Kaguya and Yuzuru surrounding him.

"Wait... Why are you two in the male's bath too?!"

Kaguya grinned. "How's that? Even you have no choice but to bow down before my feminine charms!"

Yuzuru rebutted. As usual. "Scorn: Feminine charms, LOL." Yuzuru really just said LOL in person and not texting. "This is the first I've heard of you being endowed with such things."

"Ha! You'll pay for that later!"

"Challenge accepted. Just what I was hoping for."

Shido yelled out again. "Um, EXCUSE ME!" The twins were taken aback by his sudden outburst. "This is the men's bath! So that means neither of you are supposed to be here!"

Kaguya grinned and got closer to his ear. "You better prepare yourself, Shido. I'll make you unable to be satisfied by anyone but me."

Yuzuru also got closer. "Negative: Just think. There is only a flimsy white towel separating our flesh."

They then reached their hands down... somewhere. Shido gulped and gasped. "Joystick... came on!" He whimpered.

...

...

...

Just when he thought he was doomed, he snapped back to reality. "...huh?" He just looked around to see Kaguya and Yuzuru staring at each other.

Kaguya smirked. "Out of the kindness of my heart, I will allow you to seduce Shido first, Yuzuru."

"Negative: It is unnecessary. You are the one who needs a handicap."

"Y-you fool! The moment I make my move, Shido's eyes will never leave me! I just thought I'd give you a chance to appear-"

"Skeptical: Truth is, you don't know what to do, do you?"

"Of course I do! I'm super hawt and sexy!" Kaguya and Yuzuru were bickering while Shido was just... sitting there in the middle. "And I've got a ton of adult techniques you can't even think of!"

"Suspicious: Then please, show us." Yuzuru had a smug face.

"Fine, just you watch!" Kaguya then stood up and did a model pose. Well, her child-like figure did not really help in that manner. If anything, Yuzuru would be better-looking in that pose.

Speaking of Yuzuru, she was just giggling. "Heh, snicker snicker, hehe, hehe."

"Um..." Shido looked back at Yuzuru.

Kaguya instantly ducked down again. "What are you two on about?!"

"Scorn: As expected, Kaguya's feminine charms, LOL, are something else."

"What did you say?! You don't know what to do either, do you?!"

Yuzuru twitched her eyebrows, which were downward. "Negative: Such a thing is not possible." She pointed at Kaguya.

"Then why don't you give it a try?!"

"Acknowledged: Fine." She just waded over to Shido. "Bewitching: Kiss!" She kissed the air with her hands like a princess.

"Uh. Yeah." Shido was not amused by it.

Kaguya did a really loud laugh. "Kyahahahahah! What was that? WHAT was that?! Was that supposed to bewitch him?!"

"Indignat: I do not want to hear that from you."

"Hmph! Same here!"

"Negative: Your childish figure is nowhere near seductive."

"You're not that different yourself!"

"Rebuttal: They do feel different."

"You do not seem to know the attractiveness of a slender body!"

"Scorn: Slender body, LOL. Even if you change the words to make it sound better, the truth doesn't change."

"Hah. Such a thing is just a mass of fat, after all."

"Offended: That is inexcusable. Is that your jealousy, Kaguya?"

"Who's jealous? I'm not jealous at all! Shido thinks I'm cuter than a fatty like you anyway!"

"Negative: When appealing to men, it is a crime to be flat chested. No one would take a second look to chicken bones like you."

"Who are you calling chicken bones?!"

"Return attack: Who are you calling fatty?"

"You have more split ends than I do!"

"Point: You are slightly smellier than I am when you sweat."

"You have more body fat than I do!"

"Pity: I feel bad that is the only thing you can comment on."

"Shut up, puffy puffball!"

Meanwhile, Shido was just sweating all around. He needed to find a way out. He then saw some silhouettes at the bathroom door. "Uh-guys."

Yuzuru made one last comeback. "Counterattack: Flat-as-a-board flat."

"Others are about to come in!" Shido finally spoke up. "Won't it be bad if you were found in the men's bath?!"

Kaguya and Yuzuru just looked down upon Shido. "Hah, what are you talking about, Shido?"

"Negative: No need to worry."

"But.."

The door opened and a girl in night-coloured hair jumped into the hot springs. Finishing her glutton meal with Wario, it was Tohka. She jumped into the pool without even seeing Shido. "Yay!" She stood upright. "First one in the bath!" She then noticed the situation. "Huh?" She looked up. Kaguya and Yuzuru staring at her with blank expressions, and Shido just... fearing for his life. Nobody said anything for a moment.

...

...

...

Then they both let out a scream. "aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Tohka instantly covered herself up. "Why are you in a place like this, Shido?!"

"No no no!" Shido retorted. "Why are you in the men's bath?!"

"What are you on about?! I went to the red sign door like everyone told me to!" The red sign meaning 'Women'.

"...huh?!" That was news to Shido. He definitely went in the door with the BLUE sign. He looked at Kaguya and Yuzuru. "Don't tell me you guys-?!"

Kaguya confirmed. "Yep. We changed the signs before you came in, Shido."

Yuzuru continued. "Supplement: After you came in, we put them back."

"There's no way we would enter the men's bath."

Shido just took a big sigh after realising he fell into a trap.

Tohka also sighed. "I came here early to be first in the bath but now I'm the fourth..."

Shido looked behind himself for an escape route. "Anyway, I was tricked! I'll get out right now!" As Shido stood up, even more girls entered the bath.

"Wow, what's this? It's amazing!"

"So spacious! The ocean's so close!"

"That's so lame!"

Of course, the three gossipers Ai, Mai, and Mii walked in. A fourth person was with them with short white hair and doll-like features, of course it would be Origami.

Shido fastened his towel around his waist. "Crap, what should I do...?"

"Shido." Shido turned to Tohka. "I'll be your shield, so hide behind me and run away!"

"Tohka...!"

"It's not your fault, right? In that case, Hurry!" Finally, Tohka is one of the only people who UNDERSTAND that it was an accident.

Shido froze while he took it all in. "Thank you. I owe you one." He bowed his head.

Tohka then imitated a mime while Shido was behind her. This gathered the trio's attention.

"Oh, I see Tohka!"

"What are you doing all the way over to the side?"

"That's so lame..."

They approached Tohka, which sent her into a wild panic, flailing her arms all around.

The three just kept walking towards her. "Huh? Is something wrong?"

"Uh, no! It's nothing!" Tohka was still panicking. Shido was getting irritated. Tohka then blindly pointed to the sky. "LOOK OVER THERE! There's a giant kinako bread in the sky!"

While they were distracted, Shido made a DASH to the exit. However, the only exit was down a 10 foot drop to the ocean. He looked to the side only to see the Toads still building the ship.

While Tohka was backing up while still pointing, she bumped into Shido. He wobbled and tumbled, and eventually lost his balance. He fell right into the ocean.

* * *

Meanwhile, Reine was computering on her laptop. (confused yet?) She stopped when she heard light knocking. She turned her head in question and saw the door open, revealing a shirtless shivering Shido. The two just stared at each other before Reine made a comment.

"Isn't it a little early to sneak into a woman's bedroom?"

"We've had a wrench in the plans." A blonde woman (yes another female, sick of it yet?) was communicating to someone. This woman had long creamish blonde hair. Ellen, assistant of Isaac, was on the island. "But the plan will be carried out tonight. Please have Bandersnatch on standby." She looked at the photographs to see Tohka and Mario in a selfie together. Rabbid Peach would've been jealous. Ellen's static expression turned into a sinister smile.

* * *

"...Strange energy?" Luigi was talking to E. Gadd on his DS.

"Yeah, like some machinery is on the island. I'd advise extreme caution."

"...Understood." Luigi started to shiver as he closed the DS.

"So what do you-a say?" Mario then turned to Wario and Waluigi. "Want to save-a this world AND the Mushroom Kingdom?"

"...Fine." The two bad plumbers replied and caved in.

Yoshino was getting sleepy from watching her drama.

"Yoshino..." Her puppet, Yoshinon, spoke.

"What is it?"

"We sure got a lot of free time during this school trip, huh?" True, because they were at the Itsuka Residence right now along with Donkey Kong and the Rabbids.

Everyone just nodded at Yoshinon's statement.

* * *

**FINALLY done with the premeire of the Yamai Arc. I tried to make Mario more inclusive this time around.**

**For those wondering about the Dual Scream being present and not the Virtual Boo, is that Super Mario Sephira takes place after Super Mario Odyssey and before Luigi's Mansion 3.**

**We'll see you later, then.**

***Sonic 06 Fandub**

****Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga**

*****Nintendo DS**


	21. The Plot Thickens

"...Mario?"

Luigi called out to his bro after he stepped onto the clear white sandy beach in the moonlight. His brother, a gloomy-looking Mario wasn't looking so good, as he was just staring out into the ocean, with his legs folded and sitting down. It was silent. Mario was not making a single movement. The only sounds heard were the waves crashing onto the shore. Mario was just inches away from the water. His shoes not being wet, but sandy. Mario did hear his bro after a while. He got up and faced Luigi. "Oh. Hey bro."

"Hey, Mario. Can't sleep, huh?" Luigi looked out onto the shore.

"Hah hah." Mario chuckled as he went back to looking at the endless ocean. "I could-a say the same to you, bro." He was lighthearted, but clearly depressed.

"The professor's wording 'extreme caution' got to you, huh? I'm scared of it."

"Me too, bro. I'm worried about losing you. I don't want-a that to happen. I'm-a also worried for Shido and what the Yamai are doing to him."

"Well, look on the bright side!" Luigi thought. "Blue Toad and Yellow Toad are almost done making repairs! As soon as they're done, we can dip out of this isl-"

"I don't-a want to run away from the danger." Mario interrupted. "I want to protect everyone from-a it."

Luigi went silent. As if needles could drop onto sand and still be heard. Mario, staying behind on a dangerous island to protect everyone.

"Even-"

"Even Wario and Waluigi." Mario finished. "They're anti-heroes, not villains. I'll-a get everyone, round up Princess Peach and-a Yoshi, and find a way home. That much I can promise. Because it's-a-me, Mario." He gave a thumbs up.

The lighthearted mood went down the drain as two other voices spoke up. "Who let the vampires out?"

"Wah, they're soaking up moonlight instead of sunlight."

Speak of the devil. Wario and Waluigi just arrived.

"So I-a assume you two can't sleep either?" Mario got some of his sass back.

"Hey, shut up. I've been pondering to myself for some time!" Wario exclaimed.

"Huh?" Luigi tilted his head.

"Where the heck are we anyway?"

Mario sighed. "Take a look around man! Supernatural girls coming from another dimension, high school boys dating their-a own little sister! Our most emotional journey yet! We're in-"

"Alabama!" Wario shouted.

"Japan! Did you say Alabama?"

"Nope! I said Africa. Because these girls' personalities are dry compared to the ones in our world."

Wario singlehandedly roasted the DAL crew and managed to be incredibly racist. Wario continued regardless. "Japan, huh. Any ideas home yet?"

"No idea." Mario chuckled.

"Fine." Waluigi caved in. "Let's stay on the island for a while."

Luigi noticed Mario get up and walk back to the island hotel. "Where you going, bro?"

"To bed."

"A-ah!" Luigi sped up to Mario. "Wait for me! I'm tired too!"

"You're not leaving us behind!" Wario and Waluigi gave chase.

Just then, Blue Toad gave a worried look to Yellow Toad.

"I tinkered with E. Gadd's radio... They keep mentioning something about Bandersnatch."

"They?" Yellow Toad tilted his head.

"Some company called DEM Industries?"

"Is this bad?"

"Probably." Blue Toad finally said, as he looked up into the starry sky.

* * *

Once daylight rose, Shido was sitting on the beach with his swimming trunks.

Reine was communicating with Shido via earpiece. "Okay, let's review the plan."

"Alright.." Shido sighed.

"We'll have you and the Yamai Sisters spend today's free time at that private beach. I have given Kaguya and Yuzuru each intercoms so I can tell them what to do."

"Okay." Shido confirmed. "So then I just pretend I don't know about that and let them win me over?"

"That's right." Reine was straightening her hair. "If they understand that following my directions will make you fall for them, I will be able to control their actions to some extent."

"In other words, we might be able to seal both of them at the same time. Two birds with one stone." Shido smiled.

"That's right. If you seal one of the girls, there's no way in knowing on how the other will react."

Shido nodded.

Reine was just monitoring Shido with her tablet. "Communications with Fraxinus have not yet been restored. However, if we do not seal the Yamai Sisters now, we may never get a second chance." Reine pressed a button on her tablet, which brought up camera footage of the two Yamai getting changed into their swimwear. "There are many risks involved, though..."

"I understand.. if I can seal the two without any fighting... I'll try and do it. Honestly, I'm not sure if I can, though."

"We're counting on you." Reine said, without changing her tone. "They are almost done changing. In order to avoid confusion, I'm going to cut this line of communication for now. Don't forget to compliment them on their swimsuits."

The communication ended. Shido was still smiling with an 'end my life' soul inside of him.

"So this is where you were, Shido!" Aaaand it begins. That voice was definitely Kaguya.

"Discovery: I have found you, Shido."

"O-oh. Hey, you two! Those swimsuits look good on you!" Shido was silently sweating to himself. "You look very pretty."

Kaguya instantly went red. "Y-you got that right!"

Yuzuru did not change. "Acknowledgement: Thank you very much."

Then they both turned and tapped on their ears. Shido realised what this meant. They were communicating with Reine. "Hm, I see, roger that..."

"Noted: I understand."

Kaguya suddenly whipped out a bottle of sunblock. "O Shido! I will allow you to apply divine protection from the miasma of light on my body!"

Yuzuru just casually whipped hers out. "Petition: Please put sunblock on me."

"S-Sunblock?!" Shido sunk into himself.

They both nodded at the same time.

* * *

Meanwhile with heckin' Kannazuki. "Man, it's hard to work up much enthusiasm when there's nothing to do... To do something that can't be undone... and then recieve a good scolding from the commander... I had expected something like that..."

Everyone was staring at Kannazuki just hopelessly lying against the commander chair. "And as expected, he's useless."

"If at least Analyst Murasame were here..."

"Should we try contacting her later?"

Everyone grumbled as they continued to stare at Kannazuki.

* * *

Everyone was then looking at the TV screen, watching the girl in the drama slowly undress herself.

The Rabbids were screaming as Donkey Kong was completely covering Yoshino's eyes.

"Oh, this is steamy... Way steamy!" Yoshinon was watching with pure terror.

* * *

Mario peeked out of the airport hotel. "Shido! Where are-a you?"

Luigi peeked out above Mario. "Maybe he went to the Toads?"

Wario peeked out above Luigi. "The Toads? They aren't significant enough for him to pay attention to!"

Waluigi peeked out above Wario. "Maybe he's doin' his Alabama stuff... With those orange-hair chicks!"

Wario looked up at Waluigi. "Orange hair chicks? Only ONE is enough for me, thank you."*

"C'mon!" Mario stepped out of the airport, wearing casual summer wear instead of his normal plumber attire. "Let's-a-go to the beach!" He bolted out into the boiling sunlight. The sun was really hot today. Perfect for beach episodes and some sunblock. Unfortunately, Mario wasn't in the mood for either. He made his way down the airport road and went down the side road where he could see the beach. He saw Shido in the distance.

"Ah, there he-a is... And he's.."

The Yamai were flat on their stomachs, tops naked, and having sunblock splattered all over them. Doesn't help that the sunblock looks like something else that's white.

"Oh mama-mia." Mario facepalmed. "He is doing Alabama with them!"

Mario jumped down to the private beach. Shido turned, and instantly turned red. "Mario, please don't-!"

"I'm-a just..." Mario raised his hand up. "Not-a gonna say anything."

* * *

Luigi was on another section of the beach with Wario. Who knows what Waluigi is doing.

"Huh.." He turned to a light blonde female who was hiding in the rocks from Tohka and Origami. The woman seemed to be communicating with someone. She then got up and made a sprint towards them while still communicating.

Luigi felt a churn in his stomach and was ready to put up a fight if necessary. But alas, the woman fell into a trap and the three gossipers instantly came out.

"Huh. A trap. Who-"

"I helped them." A sudden Waluigi appeared. "Heh heh! Shady woman deserved what she got!"

Wario and Luigi just awkwardly stared at the lanky purple man.

"Actually, now that she's stuck there.." Waluigi grinned wider as he went back to join the girls.

"..."

And then, after a few hours, the woman and Tonomachi were buried together with questionable drawings in the sand next to them.

* * *

"I see, I see." Tohka was standing in front of the Yamai, Shido and Mario. "So you four got lost and ended up here!"

"Yeah..." Shido lied.

"Yeah, ha ha ha..." Mario also lied.

Kaguya nodded. "That's my kinswoman, Tohka! Hastening to her master's side! Well done!"

Yuzuru also nodded. "Wonder: I did not think Master Origami would come to a place like this."

"Kinswoman?" Shido eyed Tohka.

"Master?" Mario eyed Origami.

"Yup." Kaguya affirmed. "She seemed to have a bright future. So, yesterday, we performed a baptism of darkness and exchanged bonds."

"Explanation: I was moved by Master's determination and asked to be her disciple."

"A-ah..." Both Mario and Shido started to sweat.

"So." Origami spoke up, without changing her tone. "Shido, what were you and the others doing alone?"

"Um.. Well.." Shido started to fumble for an excuse.

Just then, another voice came up from behind. A sleepy woman's voice. "I thought we could play a little beach volleyball."

Everyone turned to the soon-revealed Reine, holding a volleyball in a swimsuit that was... quite revealing, especially with something as large as - that volleyball!

"Why did you suddenly appear, Reine?" Shido asked.

"Since Tohka and Origami appeared, we have to change the plan." Everyone drew sticks on a bucket to determine teams for the volleyball. Except Mario. He was sitting this one out. "We'll have you, Kaguya and Yuzuru strengthen your bonds by playing together. Gregon, Jackson and Spencer are on this side." She pointed left. "Alexander, Abraham and Anthony are on the other court." She pointed right.

Mario looked at the playing field. In other words, Shido, Kaguya & Yuzuru were up against Reine, Origami and Tohka. Tohka was serving first. At least they will go easy on him-

Mario watched the ball get spiked straight into the sand like a meteor. Shido didn't even flinch. Everyone just looked at the ball, leaving smoke in it's wake as it sat in the sand like a... meteor.

"Yay! Yippee! I did it!" Tohka cheered.

And then they scored. Point after point with Kaguya butting against Yuzru, with Shido flopping all over the place.

Then everything paused. Mario couldn't see what was going on, but it was a while until Tohka's next serve. Shido managed to keep up with... using his face to launch it up. Then, Kaguya ran up to Yuzuru, stepped on her open hands (Yuzuru willingly used her hands as a platform), jumped up and spiked the ball to Tohka's side and they scored. A Bros move, is what Mario just saw.

Everyone gawked while the Yamai sisters were parading and celebrating and praising each other.

...Praising each other.

Of course, it did not take long at all for them to separate, folding their arms.

Mario sighed, shaking his head. "Mama-mia. They're-a worse than Wario and Waluigi."

And Shido just looked deadder than a doornail, just laying on the sound with a volleyball mark plastered on his face.

* * *

"Shin, are you alright?" Reine asked on the intercom when Shido was at the beach bathroom.

"Yeah... I'm alright... I wonder if this will really work." Shido was holding his nose to stop the pain from the volleyball.

"Honestly, I can't say yet."

Kaguya peeked out to meet with Shido. "Oh, Shido."

Mario came out of the bathroom after a mighty flush. What was he doing in there?

Kaguya continued. "Mario."

"Oh, Kaguya?" Both Shido and Mario asked.

"There's something I wanna talk to you about, is that alright?"

"Sure, but..." Shido lowered his voice to a volume that Kaguya couldn't hear. "Reine, are you telling her what to do?"

"No, I didn't say anything." Reine confirmed as Kaguya shyly approached the two with an arm sheepishly behind her back.

"Um.. I wanted to say..."

Mario folded his arms. "Where's your confident-a tone, Kaguya?"

"GYAAAA-" Kaguya screamed and then switched her tone. "S-so you were taken in by my little farce, weren't you?! You looked extremely ridiculous dancing in the palm of my hand!"

The two just smiled at Kaguya.

"W-why are you two looking at me like that?! It's not like I'm forcing myself... this is normal for me!"

"No.. you stopped doing it again..."

Kaguya sighed. "Well, since I'm a Spirit, I have a bunch of awesome powers so I gotta sound awesome too. You know, dignity. Pride. That kinda stuff."

"You think so?" Shido scratched his head.

"Anyway, it's annoying, so I'm just gonna continue like this!" Kaguya looked at the two. "Shido, your task tomorrow is to choose between Yuzuru and I, correct? You know, to decide our battle?"

"Oh.. yeah.. that?"

Kaguya pointed at Shido and said with 100% seriousness:

"Shido, choose Yuzuru tomorrow."

"...Huh..." They both couldn't breathe. No way... She couldn't have said-

* * *

Mario went behind to the other side of the bathrooms. Yuzuru had a request so Mario filled for him.

"Petition: Mario, please ask Shido to pick Kaguya as the winner of the match."

"...But... why...?" Mario was nearly in tears.

"Explanation: Because Kaguya is much better than I am. I'm sure you know how lovely she is, Mario. Even from your standpoint."

* * *

"You know, cuz Yuzuru's super cute, right?" Kaguya praised her. "She's not that friendly, but she's gentle. She's got great features, and she's a moe character come to life, you know?"

* * *

"She likes to pretend she's strong, but she's earnest. The wonderful feeling of holding that delicate body that looks like one touch could break it.. It could only be described as heavenly."

"B-but then you'll..." Both Mario and Shido said to their respective twin.

They both nodded.

"Naturally." Yuzuru said, looking at Mario while she was having her private conversation with him.

* * *

"I'll disappear." Kaguya confirmed.

"Why-?!" Shido couldn't take it.

Kaguya stretched her arms and looked out at the ocean. "Well, it's not like I WANT to disappear. But more than that, I want Yuzuru to live."

* * *

Yuzuru looked out at the ocean, not looking at Mario. "Desire: I want Kaguya to live. I want her to see and enjoy more of this world. Kaguya is the Spirit most suitable to be the true Yamai." she turned to Mario, smiling.

* * *

"I chose a battle of charm because no matter how you look at it, Yuzuru is cuter."

* * *

"Certainly: No matter how you look at it, Kaguya is cuter. That is why I accepted the battle of charm."

She looked sternly at Mario. "Reminder: Ask Shido to choose Kaguya tomorrow. If you don't..."

* * *

"This whole island and all your friends on it - INCLUDING Mario..."

* * *

**"I'll blow them all away!"**

The words of the Yamai stuck with both Shido and Mario as they looked out onto the sunset ocean. This just got SERIOUS.

As Reine would say; "This is an unexpected turn of events. If there was no ulterior motive behind what they just said, and this is actually how they feel..."

"To wish for her own disappearance..." Shido grumbled...

"To allow the-a other to live..." Mario clenched his fist..

"What the hell is this despair?!"

* * *

"...Mario?"

Luigi called out to his bro after he stepped onto the clear white sandy beach in the moonlight. His brother, a gloomy-looking Mario wasn't looking so good, as he was just staring out into the ocean, with his legs folded and sitting down. It was silent. Mario was not making a single movement. The only sounds heard were the waves crashing onto the shore. Mario was just inches away from the water. His shoes not being wet, but sandy. Mario did hear his bro after a while. He got up and faced Luigi. "Oh. Hey bro."

...Odd. Luigi felt a bit of deja vu. Regardless, he went up to Mario. "What's wrong this time, bro?"

"The Yamai." Mario simply stated.

"Ah, the orange-hair girls? What about them?" Luigi was clueless. He innocently tilted his head.

"...They want the other to live. If-a Shido does not comply... We're dead." Mario folded his arms.

"A-ah..." Luigi went silent and into a low whisper... _"What..."_

"I know... I know..."

* * *

"Analyst Mursame! Please respond!"

The Fraxinus IS trying to get back to the main group, but no luck. No signal.

"This is Fraxinus! Analyst Murasame!"

"We can't get through!"

"Shido's line is the same!"

"This is strange... Looking at the readings, I don't think it's just a simple malfunction."

"Artificial interference?"

"But who would...?"

The doors in Fraxinus opened to reveal a blonde-hair man. Kannazuki again, holding a chibi Kotori plush. He was yawning. "Is something the matter?"

* * *

Origami walked outside to the night sky after seeing Shido gone from his room. Of course. Stalker. She then paused... and stopped... She saw... a robot figure.

"A-ah.."

* * *

"Mario? Luigi?" Shido looked at the two plumbers. Tohka was accompanied with Shido.

"Oh, Shido! Tohka!" Mario stood up. "What-a brings you two here?"

"I wanted to ask Shido something alone... but..." Tohka fumbled. "Is something wrong? You three are very on edge today. I've seen those two yellow and purple freaks more than Shido this past day." She was referring to Wario and Waluigi.

"W-well... you won't mind if we tell ya?" Shido looked nervous.

"Not at all!" Tohka beamed innocently.

"Well..." Luigi pointed out. "Tomorrow Shido has to choose Kaguya or Yuzuru, in a no-win situation."

"No-win situation?"

Mario sighed. "Kaguya wants Yuzuru to live, and vice versa for Yuzuru."

Everyone got attacked by a gale wind. "H-huh?"

"What?! I don't get it!" A voice beamed. Everyone turned. Mario looked up.

"Kaguya!"

"Yuzuru said that about me? What are you talking about?"

"Kaguya, hold on!" Luigi panicked.

"Repeat: Demand."

"Yuzuru!" Shido shouted.

"Kaguya said to choose me? Is that what she said?"

Mario and Luigi were back-to back as the Yamai approached from either side.

"Kaguya, Yuzuru, calm-a down and listen to Shido!"

 **"WHAT THE HELL?!"** Both of the Yamai yelled as they enveloped themself in a tornado. Shido was protecting Tohka and Mario was protecting Luigi.

Gone were their regular kimono relaxing clothes... No... They were replacing it with their Astral dresses. Purple... and blue..."

"Raphael! El Re'em!"

"Response: Raphael, El Nahash!"

They summoned what appeared to be a lance and some chains. The four heroes were quivering with the ocean being even more bumpy than Luigi's heartrate.

Origami was still staring down the robot figure. She analysed the air. "A Territory has been deployed. What is this?"

The robot's eye lit up a menacing jade. It then took up into the sky.

"Tobiichi Origami, what are you doing?" A sleepy voice called out. It was Reine in a kimono.

Origami looked back up to the sky and for once, screamed. The robot...

was charging straight at them.

"Ms. Murasame! PLEASE RUN AWAY!" The robot charged straight at them before Origami passed out.

* * *

"I see." Kannazuki was done analysing. It's a little dangerous, but let's send personnel to communicate directly. Bring us to 1,000 meters above ground level. Deploy the cannon!"

Everyone in Fraxinus laid back as their chairs went under the main commanding room.

"Y-yes sir!" Everyone was worried. Could they really trust Kannazuki to do this?

"Approaching target coordinates!"

"No reaction to the Permanent Territory." A dark room was lit up with blue screens.

"Very well! Here we go!" The Fraxinus uncloaked itself and was now soaring through the sky at very high speeds. Crystals around the edge of the cannon started to glow up, indicating it was charging.

And there, in the sky, was another red airship. The two airships were about to go to war, because the truth had to be told -

it was a DEM airship.

* * *

"You really like to mess around, don't you, Yuzuru? Saying he should choose me?" Meanwhile with Kaguya...

"Rebuttal: What about you, Kaguya? What is your intention?"

"It's no use. I thought this method would let us decide properly, but I forgot to add your idiocy to the equation."

"Agreement: I have had it with your stupidity. It was asking too much to have someone else end a duel we started ourselves. It looks like we have to settle the score in our own hands after all."

"Whoever falls first WINS!"

They clashed into each other, pulled back and clashed again, raising themselves into the sky and glaring at each other with maddening yells.

Mario was protecting Luigi as Shido did with Tohka.

"Stop... please stop..."

" _ **STOOOOOP IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!**_ " They cried out which could shatter glass.

Wario glared out from the hotel and saw the stormy battle.

* * *

Waluigi was also glaring, and then turned to Wario. "Shall we?"

"Time to fight back. It's Wario time."

* * *

**Buhjeezus, this took a while. Christmas and birthday kinda got lumped in so sorry 'bout that. Bullet L also took over for a while but we should be back in full swing.**

***Mona from WarioWare**


	22. Hurricane

**When you have the Mario series, the Rabbids series and the Date A Live series, you have the perfect contendor for Isekai Quartet.**

* * *

The moon.

What a lovely place for a stroll around for a tiny lone satellite.

Except, within our layers of oxygen, there were two warships going at it.

Firing lasers, activating shields... Fraxinus going visible and launching attacks, and worst of all...

Yoshino's TV was off.

"It turned off...!"  
"Hey, what's going on!" Yoshinon banged it's head against the glass. "We were just getting to the good part too!"

* * *

Shido and Tohka, Mario and Luigi.

They were looking up at the unstoppable fight between the Yamai. It... could not be stopped, like I just said.

"You've always been like this!" Kaguya yelled. "You always try to take things on yourself and deal with them yourself!" She charged her lance and fired a wind blast at Yuzuru.

"Rebuttal: I'll wrap those words in pretty paper and ribbon and send them back to you." She launched her chains at the wind blast, cancelling each other out.

"Why did it come to this?!" Shido yelled, protecting Tohka. "Don't you two love each other?!"

"Shido." Tohka's spirit sense kicked in. "Something is here-! Everyone.."

Mario, Luigi, Tohka and Shido both looked within the dark forest of Arubi Island.

...green lights surrounded them. And then a voice was within radius. "Model number DD007... Bandersnatch." There was a pale-hair woman. Mario and Shido recognised her.

"Ellen?!"

"Thank you for coming to a place without too many people. Tohka, Mario."

Mario gasped. "I'm on her hit list too?!"

"However, I am surprised. I didn't those two were spirits, and Berserk at that." Ellen looked up.

"What are you and what-a do you want?" Mario stepped forward. "AST? I've-a had enough of those."

"You know about the defense force's Anti Spirit Team? Unfortunately, you are mistaken." She raised her hand as the Bandersnatch closed in on them. Tohka instantly transformed into her limited-edition Astral Dress and hacked her sword at the Bandersnatch.

"Are you all right, Shido?! Mario?! Green guy?!"

Ellen didn't change her tone. "It appears you are the real thing, princess. Tohka, will you please come with me?" She offered her hand while smiling. "Mario, too, you will be a bonus. You two will receive the warmest of welcomes."

"Silence!" Tohka pointed her sword and Mario pointed his finger.

"Hey, guys!" Shido stepped in. "No matter what she's, you can't use your weapons of mass destruction on anybody!"

"No.." Tohka spoke, and her eyes started to glisten. "After facing her like this, I realised... This woman.. I have a VERY bad feeling about her! She's like a very buffed version of the AST!"

Ellen started to glow, and then she was equipped with very similar equipment as the AST. Ultimate Spirit destroying armor. "That's an interesting way to put it. Bandersnatch squad, stay back for a while." She drew her laser sword. Mario felt his stomach churn. A similar laser sword to cut up Kurumi's guts... "I'll test the princess and the famous 'Mario Bros' to see if they can survive as much as they look cool."

"Don't even bother breathing!" Tohka ran in and jumped up. Mario simply looked at Luigi. "Let's-a-go!"

"Right!" They both ran towards Ellen. A 3v1. This should be fun.

* * *

Meanwhile, with Kannazuki's battle...

"The ship sustained no damage with that cannon again!"

"If Protect Territory is applied to a pinpoint location, its intensity will increase massively... Just as we experienced right now."

"But then the rest of the ship remains completely unprotected! If we're hit in a specific place..."

Kannazuki spoke up with a grin. "Next pinpoint location, same direction; 50, 69. (nice)"

"That range is way too narrow!"

"Hurry up or we'll die. But you know, dying isn't that bad. I've always wanted to experience something that hurts like hell.." He let his masochist side kick in.

"Range: 50, 69. Deploy!"

The small barrier was set up, and the attack from the opposing airship was completely blocked.

"It was blocked?!"

"And that attack was much stronger!"

"That's why the range was much smaller than before..."

Everyone looked at Kannazuki. Could he actually DO it?

* * *

Tohka and Ellen clashed swords. The sheer force of Ellen sent Tohka back. Mario dived onto his back legs and delivered an uppercut. Ellen stepped back.

Meanwhile, Luigi jumped up from above and tried to stomp on Ellen. She simply jumped forward to make Luigi land behind her and then clashed her sword with an incoming attack from Tohka again.

"Is this all you three got? I even equipped Pendragon for this fight. What a disappointment." Ellen said smugly. "Let's end this." She pushed Tohka back and swung her sword into Sandalphon.

Everything turned white. Tohka, Mario and Luigi were frozen with fear. No way... Did Ellen just...

_**break Sandalphon?** _

Crystals were in front of their eyes. Mario tried to grasp the shards with his gloved palms, but they were too tiny to grasp... "What... no.." His eyes watered as he watched the crystals float by.

While Tohka was in shock, Ellen elbowed her and she rolled onto the ground in front of Shido.

"Tohka! Tohka!" He stepped forward but was blocked by 2 Bandersnatch. "Dammit!"

4 Bandersnatch surrounded Mario and Luigi. Ellen smirked. "I suppose you two are too late. Goodbye."

A Bandersnatch unit was about to swing it's sword at Mario, but then

as Mario

gracefully accepted

his death

**Wario came in and shoulder bashed the attacker.**

"...huh..." Mario opened his eyes. Ellen was looking at Wario and the recently arriving Waluigi.

"I didn't know YOU were associates with these three, purple man." Ellen looked at Waluigi.

"I prefer not to be associates with two of them." Waluigi looked at Mario and Luigi, but gave them a reassuring nod. Mario got back on his feet and helped up Luigi.

Ellen sighed. "I would've preferred Tohka be knocked out quickly. But you saw Sandalphon breaking, Mario. Surrender before I break your entire body."

"Well, my-a fist hungers for justice!" Mario brought his fist out... and his stomach rumbled.

"..." Everyone looked at Mario disappointingly.

"That was my... fist."*

"Right." Luigi gave an unamused tone as everyone else got in their fight pose.

The Bandersnatch squad charged at Mario.

"Come on!" The Mario squad charged too.

They ran up to take one Bandersnatch unit each. Mario went up to his unit and swish-dodged the barrage of sword swings, making poses and faces as he kept dodging the close range attacks.

Shido was impressed.

"Hyah!" Mario used his fat weight to knock the Bandersnatch towards Ellen, to which she simply leaned out of the way.

Luigi jumped on top of his unit, dodging an incoming sword swing and karate chopping it's head. "Hyah!"

Wario charged in full tackle and rapidly punched his unit. He delivered two punches before slamming the earth and wind-up punching his unit, sending it flying.

Waluigi launched a tennis ball at his unit, which was countered by multiple sword blocks. When it was open, Waluigi delivered a kick. "Wah-hah!"

Mario jumped and leaned his body backwards, and delivered a backwards roundhouse kick. Using his foot on the ground, he backflipped and stomped on the Bandersnatch that was attacking Luigi.

Ellen sighed. "I've had enough of this." She drew her sword.

Mario nodded to Luigi. "Let's-a finish these guys up!" Mario curled into a ball and Luigi pulled out his hammer. They used Knockback Bros and Mario bonked on four Bandersnatch at once. "Yahoo!"

Mario's celebration was cut short as he was SLICED by Ellen's light sword.

 **"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"** He let out the most bloodcurdling scream imaginable. He was knocked on top of Tohka.

"MARIO!" Shido yelled.

"Ah!" Luigi, Wario and Waluigi all looked at Mario while defending themselves. It was looking grim.

"Spoilsports." Ellen commented. "Knock Tohka and Mario back and bring them to the airship ASAP."

One of the Bandersnatch units grabbed Tohka's hair with it's robotic arm.

"Tohka! What are you bastards doing?! Get out of the way! Tohka! Mario!" Shido yelled.

But all was helpless. The other three were struggling against the Bandersnatch, Mario was definitely unconscious, and Tohka closed her eyes to accept her fate.

 _"Is there... nothing I can do.."_ Shido thought. _"I'm the only one here who can't fight... I don't want to feel helpless again!"_ He had flashbacks of Kurumi's army of clones absolutely bodying everybody. He looked all around. Kaguya and Yuzuru were still fighting in the air. THEY couldn't help... So Shido raised his hand into the sky.

 **"TOOOOOHKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"** He yelled at the top of his lungs.

All went black and a silent movement was made.

And at that instant, a Bandersnatch unit was cut in half. Tohka fell to the floor, unable to see Shido.

But Ellen saw him... and she was massively shocked.

Luigi looked at Shido and couldn't believe it. No way... That certain item couldn't POSSIBLY be in Shido's hands right now... but it is...

He's weilding Sandalphon himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Fraxinus was just barely surviving with their tiny shields.

"I wish for them to attack more, but Commander Kotori would be mad if I damaged her little ship... Very well, prepare the cannon at the ready!" Kannazuki commanded.

The ship prepared a yellow-glowing cannon blast towards the enemy airship with a giant green Territory barrier surrounding itself. Sure enough, they managed to pierce the Territory and damage the ship!

* * *

Shido couldn't believe his eyes.

Tohka sat up. "Shido.. why do you have Sandalphon?"

"What are you, Shido Itsuka?" Ellen showed no sign of backing down.

"I'm human. More or less." Shido firmly gripped Sandalphon.

"I've changed my mind. You'll be coming with Mario and Tohka. Resisting is not welcome."

The airship crashed into the enemy's airship's Territory. It kept clashing, with a radiating green light flowing throughout.

"Bandersnatch, take him into custody. If he resists, break his arms. If he resists more, break his legs."

"SHIDO!"

Shido did not flinch. The only muscles he moved was to swing his sword to finally defend himself against the Bandersnatch squad. The moon glistening between the battle of the airships and down below.

And then, a satellite was seen within the moon's light. As if without warning, the Bandersnatch stopped moving just inches with it's hand from Shido's face. "W-what...?"

Luigi, Wario and Waluigi got up and looked at Ellen.

Ellen was already contacting DEM. "The reactions of the Bandersnatch are haywire. Mind filling me in?" Voices were heard and Ellen was shocked. "The control room is on fire?! What do you MEAN you're battling an airship? I don't remember ordering that command!"

Shido grabbed Tohka's hand. "Now, Tohka!" They booked it out of that forest. Wario picked up Mario and ran out along with Luigi and Waluigi.

"After them!" Ellen commanded. The Bandersnatch struggled to push in but quickly collapsed due to their power outage. "What are you doing?!" She scolded as if she were treating incompetent villains after slipping on a banana peel.** Ellen sprinted after them herself but then... her foot slipped. Right into a trap. Waluigi wasn't there for nothing.

"This can't be true... I'm the strongest Wizard of humanity... Crap!" Ellen finally was defeated.

* * *

Meanwhile, with Ai, Mai and Mii...

"You remember all those traps we set up? I think there was one that nobody got caught in."

"Maybe it was in a bad location?"

"That's so lame..."

* * *

Partly being on fire, the enemy airship started retreating.

"T-the enemy airship is retreating?!"

"What was that just now?!"

"That tiny little satellite?" The cameras zoomed in to a tiny lone satellite being reflected on the moon, surrounded by a green Territory.

Kannazuki was smug. All according to plan.

* * *

Shido and Tohka ran to the beach. Accompanied with them was Luigi, Wario and Waluigi with an injured Mario.

Luigi ran to the side, towards the nearly finished repaired ship. "TOADS!" He screamed.

Blue Toad and Yellow Toad popped out of the ship. "Hey, Luigi." Blue spoke. "Is the storm over yet? It's been going for ages."

Yellow Toad looked at the elephant in the room. "MARIO?! What the hell happened?!" He practically screamed when he saw Mario's overalls slightly tinted with red.

"Giant laser sword... You got powerups in that ship, right?!" Luigi was almost yelling too.

"Right... yeah! I do!" Blue Toad yeeted a 1-up straight into Mario's slightly opened up.

He chomped slightly. Then he opened his eyes.

"Lui...gi?" His mouth coughed out.

Shido looked up at the midst of the tornado. The two sisters were still fighting. "KAGUYA! YUZURU! Stop it, you two! There might be a way for both of you to survive!" He yelled while the two sisters were out of breath.

...but they didn't listen. Shido gripped Sandalphon. "I know! I'll get their attention with this..." He raised it up and waved it about, Sandalphon glowing in the dark. "Dammit! Over here! OVER HERE! Can't something be done?! Look this way once, please! Kaguya! Yuzuru!"

Tohka eventually put her arm on Shido's shoulder. "I'm jealous that you can talk to them like that."

"Tohka... What should I do?" Shido turned.

Tohka grinned. "You summoned Sandalphon with your desire, Shido. So who else is there to fulfill that?"

"I did...? But..."

Tohka rested her hand on the handle of Sandalphon. "Calm your heart and remember. What do you want to do right now? What is it you are wishing for right now? Nothing else matters, throw it all away. Just picture your desire with your heart and swing the sword. If you do that, the angel will definitely respond."

Shido put a tiny bit of thought into his one wish. He gasped a bit when Sandalphon started to glow. He screamed out and swung Sandalphon with the help of Tohka. There was an energy beam that came out of the swing that pierced the dark clouds and then the bright moon illuminated onto the beach.

THEN the Yamai turned to them. Kaguya noticed Mario's brutally injured body thanks to the light of the moon.

Yuzuru looked down at Shido. "Unease: This is..."

"Kaguya! Yuzuru!" Shido started now that he had their attention. "Please, stop fighting!"

"You're saying that now?" Kaguya complained. "It doesn't have anything to do with you anymore."

"Agreement: Please do not get in the way." They both turned to face each other to battle once more.

But Shido continued. "I still haven't given up on deciding your duel! I will choose the Spirit most worthy of being the true Yamai!"

Both the Yamai paused.

"I choose you! BOTH of you!" He made his decision.

Of course, he was met with wind to the face.

"What the hell? Are you stupid?"

"Scorn: That answer is worse than the language of the bunny." Yuzuru mocked Rabbid Luigi, in which the latter wasn't there to witness the whole thing.

"Well, it can't be helped, can it?!" Shido still persisted. "You both have your amazing good traits, so it's impossible to choose! Kaguya! You care for Yuzuru more than she does herself! Yuzuru! You hold Kaguya dear more than Kaguya holds herself! You have the right to choose what will happen next! Choose!

1: Yuzuru takes in Kaguya and becomes the true Yamai!

2: Kaguya takes in Yuzuru and becomes the true Yamai!"

Kaguya sputtered. "That's-"

"3: In exchange for losing your Spirit powers, you both survive! Sorry, but I'm used to having three choices. I can't tolerate only two choices!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Doubt: That's not..."

"Please! Believe me!" Shido's grip on Sandalphon got slightly shaky. "Just once! Just give me a chance to let you both survive!"

Kaguya spoke after a moment of silence. "Don't be so ridiculous. You're just a human. How could you do that?"

"Who split that wind you're so proud of?" Shido responded. "Did you forget?! If I fail... you can kill me for all I care. Unlike Mario, I appear to be mortal. So please..." Sandalphon faded and Shido dropped to the ground.

Kaguya and Yuzuru just looked at the scene.

"Well, Yuzuru? What do you think?"

"Disbelief: I do not believe any human could have that kind of power."

"Yeah, right? We have to do something about Shido. That's twice he interrupted our duels."

"Agreement: I was just about to win and have you survive."

"Unfortunately, I can't have that. I was gonna win and have YOU survive!"

They squinted once they took in each other's words.

Their fists loosened a bit.

"H-...hey... Yuzuru?" Kaguya questioned.

"Reply: What is it?"

"This is all hypothetical, but what would you think if what Shido says is true?"

"Reply: I think that would be wonderful."

"Oh? You're unusually romantic."

"Protest: What about you, Kaguya?"

"What a coincidence. So am I."

"Question: If we could both survive, what would you want to do?"

"Me? Let's see. Oh! There's that kinako bread that Tohka mentioned! I wanna try that!"

"Agreement: That sounds delicious."

"Although there's one other thing I want to do..." Kaguya looked down at the slowly waking up Mario. "Befriend that guy. He looks like he's suffered a million deaths!"

"Reply: I wish to bond with the bunny too."

"What else do you want to do, Yuzuru?"

"Answer: I would like to try going to school."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful! I'm sure all the boys would be chasing you due to how beautiful you are!"

"Negative: I don't think that'll happen. You will be more popular than me."

"M-me too?"

"Affirmative: Because this is hypothetical."

"Oh, right. If that's the case, let's stroll around town after school."

"Agreement: I'd like to go to a cafe."

"Alright, but we're splitting 50-50!"

"Negative: That is not fair. You eat way more than I do."

"There's not THAT much of a difference!"

"Doubt: Really?"

They both paused as the night sky was flooded with shooting stars, and Kaguya and Yuzuru were above stormy clouds.

"Yuzuru...?"

"Reply: What is it?"

Kaguya's face... was streaming tears. "Sorry.. I lied... I... I don't want to die... I want to live... I want to be with you longer!"

"Reply: Me too." Yuzuru's face was also streaming tears. "I don't want to disappear... I want to keep living with you, Kaguya!"

"Yuzuru!"

"Kaguya!"

They were reaching their hands out to each other but something intervened.

A flying airship.

Wario and Waluigi looked up.

Wario sighed. "That must be the airship that was controlling those weird robot monsters!"

"Where."

"Huh?" Wario and Waluigi turned. Mario was back on his feet and MUCH worse for wear. A bleeding stomach and his clothes were mostly torn.

"Where is-a the airship."

They all pointed up.

Kaguya sighed. "What the heck is that?"

"Agreement: I wish they would take a hint."

"Hey, Yuzuru?" Kaguya smirked. "Shall we?"

"Affirmative: Let's!"

They finally held each other's hands and they both glowed. Their weapons started fusing together, creating more chains and a stronger wind. They made, essentially, a bow and arrow.

"Raphael, El Kanaf!"

They fired one giant arrow that pierced through most Bandersnatch units, easily went through the Territory around the airship, went through the entire airship in one blow, and effectively destroyed it.

* * *

The sunset was looming... and the words THE END appeared on screen.

"Huh.."

"uuuh..."

The Rabbids clapped. They finished the drama show at long last! Well, it was more like only Rabbid Luigi was clapping. Rabbid Peach slapped Rabbid Luigi's hand.

Donkey Kong just sat there, dumbfounded. They missed most of it due to a power outage!

* * *

Origami waked up, and tilted her head to face Reine.

"Oh, you are awake?"

"Ms. Murasame..." Origami muttered. "What happened..."

"After you lost consciousness, the robot stopped moving for some reason. I was saved, thanks to you. Thank you."

"More importantly, Shido is..." Origami had a look of genuine worry. She tried to get up but had a clear struggle.

"Don't push yourself. He'll be back soon."

"I want to become stronger..." Origami looked like she was almost about to cry. "Strong enough to protect Shido..."

* * *

Now Shido and the Yamai were alone. Mario and all the rest were on the beach.

"Shido." Kaguya started. "Um, well, thanks. For everything."

Yuzuru continued. "Thanking: Thanks to Shido, I don't have to fight against Kaguya anymore." They both bowed in respect.

Shido raised his hands dismissively. "Oh, it's nothing."

"So anyway." Kaguya beamed. "it's not much, but we'd like to give you a token as thanks."

"Petition: Please close your eyes."

"Huh?" Shido was confused. "Right..." He closed his eyes, like the gullible idiot he is.

And then the seal was planted as a kiss.

On both Yamai.

At the same time.

Shido completely backed up.

"Whoa, what are you guys doing?!"

Kaguya giggled. "I told you, didn't I? It's to thank you."

"Apology: Did you not like it?"

The Astral Dresses they wore started to glow and vanished. Of course.

Kaguya screamed.

"Dismay: How indecent!" They fell to the ground on their knees.

"Calm down...!" Shido panicked himself. "It was necessary to seal your powers and-"

"Shido? What was that light?" In comes Tohka. And she observes the scene. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Tohka?!" Shido panicked more. "Nothing, I'm not doing anything..."

"Shido suddenly took off my clothes.." Kaguya made it sound bad.

"Tears: Now I'll never find a suitable husband..."

"No, I told you that's not it-!" Shido shouted.

"SHIDOOOO!" Tohka yelled.

* * *

"I have confirmation." Ellen managed to get out of the trap. "There's no doubt about it. Princess is Tohka Yatogami.

"I see." Another voice spoke on her intercom. "Just confirming that the plan was a success. Good work. Return to base."

"Yes sir." She paused for a long while. Then she continued. "May I ask a question?"

"What is it?"

"Do you think a human exists who can handle the power of Spirits?"

* * *

...Mario almost felt like he could pass onto the afterlife. Sure, he was on the bed in the hotel room, with the muffled screams of Luigi being barely audible to Mario's poor ears.

But there he saw the glitch figure, in his subconsciousness.

Mario tried to reach out to the glitch figure, but ultimately separated the distance between there, and he felt like he could drown.

He would swear to even KILL this figure if it meant his torment could end.

* * *

Kotori, who was gone on 'business errands' was talking to an older man.

"I recieved a report." The man started. "It seems your brother manifested an angel."

Kotori gasped a bit but kept quiet. "Is that so? Already..."

"If worst comes to worst, we may be forced to deal with him as needed. If not, calamity could befall the Spirits - and those strange phenomenons from another dimension entirely."

"I understand."

"I'm sorry to force such an unpleasant task upon you."

"It's something that cannot be helped. If the worst possible scenario does come up.. I will kill Shido Itsuka."

* * *

**Finally got this one round and done. Probably gonna work on more Bullet L since this has drained me. See y'all later.**

***Kung Fu Panda**

****We Are Number One**


	23. Hymn For Diva

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brand new arc, brand new Spirit, which means brand new friend for Mario to reunite with!

The lights were blaring in the auditorium.

A certain first gossiper, known as Ai, spoke. "Here are the results of the nomination battle for our self-preservation! Said to work super hard even in a sweatshop, our committee member for this year's Tenou Festival is..."

A spotlight came in on our beloved protagonist.

"Shido Itsuka!"

"...eh?" Shido couldn't believe it. Why him of all people?

Tonomachi scoffed. "So Shido's the victim this year..."

Tohka turned, confused. "What's the Tenou Festival?"

"It's the joint cultural festival held by the ten high schools in Tengu City."

* * *

Shido groaned. "Those guys worked me to the bone from day one..."

Accompanying Shido was Yoshino, Mario, the two Toads and the two Rabbids.

Shido looked at Mario. "How'd you get to the island and back anyway?"

"We took a boat." Mario said, with his hands on his head like a pillow, while walking alongside Shido. "Reminds-a me..." He looked at the two Toads. "How did you know we were going to-a Arubi Island anyway?"

"Well..." Blue Toad got a flashback.

_"Where's Mario?!" Blue Toad panicked._

_"Blue!" Yellow shouted._

_"He should be around somewhere!" Blue Toad continued._

_"BLUE!"_

_"What?!" Blue Toad turned to Yellow, who was standing on a table and wearing a pink suit._

_Yellow Toad jumped down to the floor while squatting. "I'M GAY"*_

"...And that's totally what happened." Blue told everyone.

Yellow Toad shot a glare. "That's not true at all!"

"...sorry for making you come with us..." Shido looked at Yoshino.

"It's fine..." Yoshino spoke. "Tohka was so hungry, she collapsed anyway..."

"Ehehehe..." Shido chuckled at that.

Then... a spacial quake alarm.

"HUH?!" Shido and Mario heard the sound and on reflex looked up. The Rabbids instantly whipped out their weapons with MLG shades on.

Buildings and car parks instantly went underground to avoid being blown to smithereens.

"It's the spacial quake alarm! Kotori!" Shido shouted.

"I know." Kotori responded via earpiece. "Withdraw to the Fraxinus immediately. We'll take you and Mario's circus to the scene."

"I'm not a-"

* * *

Shido slowly creaked open the door while Mario dived in and hid behind some auditorium chairs, readying his Bwahnzai Bill in case the AST shows up.

A female voice was singing within the empty stage.

_"...remember..."_

_"Make me sing you a song, and let's sing along..."_

_"Like naming the millions of stars spread out one by one..."_

A female in a yellow dress and indigo hair was dancing to herself and singing with the most beautiful voice.

"Could she be...?" Kotori couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Mario couldn't help but be reminded of Phantom from his Rabbids adventure.

"...Diva?!" Kotori finished her sentence. "A Spirit who's only appeared ONCE, six months ago. So basically we have no information on her, her stats, her abilities, or anything."

"So we're stranded without information!?" Blue Toad quietly shouted. Since they got back from Arubi Island, Kotori was kind enough to give the Toads some communicators. They didn't give the Rabbids or Donkey Kong any communicators since they can't talk. Kotori just refuses to acknowledge that Wario and Waluigi exist.

"Keep your voice down. She thinks she's the only one here." Kotori commanded. "I'd advice extreme caution when approaching."

Mario turned his head to Shido and they both nodded. Shido took a single step...

and knocked over a soda can.

Diva stopped singing.

Mario gave Shido an absolute glare of death. Shido nervously turned to Mario and faked his best smile. The Toads were also giving him death glares. Even the RABBIDS were judging Shido's klutziness abilities.

Kotori shouted within the communicator. "ARE YOU AN ACTUAL IDIOT?!"

"Sorry!" Shido quietly shouted. "It's kinda hard to see in the dark...!"

"BUT MARIO COULD DIVEBOMB HIMSELF BEHIND SOME CHAIRS WITHOUT BEING HEARD!"

"How's that scientifically possible?" Shido questioned.

"IT JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT HE'S BETTER THAN YOU!"

Diva finally spoke. "Oh? Do I have an audience?" She leaned around, taking a look around. Since the show stage was so high up, she had to lean to check if there was anyone. "Where are you? If you please, don't you want to talk a little?"

Shido was sweating. "Kotori..!"

"I get it. The options for your dialogue has come up."

Mario sighed. "Might as well reveal yourself."

Shido caved in and slowly walked up the stage.

Diva turned around. "Aw, you climbed up to see me? Good evening, I'm..." She slowly screeched her wording to a halt when Shido revealed himself.

"H-hey..." Shido introduced himself.

"Huh..." Diva couldn't belive it.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but your singing is beautiful..."

Yellow Toad heard something in his earpiece. "Not to alarm you, Shido, but her mental stats are all going down.. FAST."

Kotori huffed. "Wrong choice, huh? Go with the other option!"

Shido turned back to Diva. "You're really pretty, I was surprised!"

Yellow Toad heard noises once more. "They're dropping even more! She's in the range of being disgusted by Shido!"

"Sounds reasonable." Blue Toad kept his voice down. "He does date a loli with a puppet on her hand."

Kotori fumbled. "Last resort! Third option! Go all out!"

"The view from below was the best!" Shido blurted out.

Alarms came into Yellow Toad's earpiece. "She thinks he's worse than chocolate chip raisens!"

"Maybe it's because he-a finished his line!" Mario peeked up from the chairs, and Diva was charging up something.

"Shido-"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Diva yelled out and a tremor soundwave came out her mouth. Shido was sent WAY flying back. He quickly grabbed onto the curtains on the side of the stage, thank goodness, but he was dangling and helpless.

Mario crossed his fingers. Please let Diva find it in her heart...

Diva finally spoke when approaching the helpless Shido. "Huh? What's this? Why won't you fall? Why won't you die?"

"Huh...?!" Shido looked up.

"Please disappear from this stage, this world, this time and place, ASAP!" She loomed menacingly over Shido.

"What... did you say..." Shido was still struggling to get up.

"Why are you talking?!" Diva shouted more. "Please, don't waste your saliva. Don't even breathe! Don't you know by simply existing, you're contaminating the air around you?!"

"..." Shido sweatdropped. "Okay... that's rude.."

"It seems you're disobedient. You know the reason why I won't trample on your hand to let you fall off the stage? Because I care too much about the bottom of my sole to let it touch you!"

Mario lowered his eyebrows and aimed his Blaster at Diva.

Suddenly, part of the roof collapsed. Shido braced himself from incoming debris but was thankfully not hit at all.

"AST...!"

Diva was shielded by a Spirit Barrier, of course. She turned up to face the AST and smiled. "Ah, that's wonderful! Just the kind of audience I want!"

She moved at the blink of the eye and was right behind, who else but Origami.

Diva had a smug look. "Especially the likes of you."

Mario nodded to Rabbid Luigi. Rabbid Luigi got on his back and Mario jumped on Rabbid Luigi's feet, performing a Team Jump. Mario landed with a fist on the stage. He quickly ran up and helped Shido up with his free hand.

"Thanks, Mario, but..."

"Right." Mario aimed his Blaster and fired a few shots. They were getting mixed up between the battle with the AST and Diva.

Diva was right in Origami's ear. "Hey, you want to hear me sing?"

Origami responded with a laser sword backwards, but was rejected by Miku's teleporting.

"Oh, but you could have just said no instead!"

Meanwhile, a brown-hair member of DEM (named Jessica, this will be handy later) watched the fight.

"As expected, their team's useless. I'll have to deal with it then!"

Jessica flew in to stop Diva, but looked down to see Mario aiming his shots.

"That man, that's-!"

"Kotori!" Mario communicated. "Bring him back!"

"Right!"

Shido was warped out of the battlefield.

Mario took one last aim at the fray, while Diva was charging up a powerful sound attack via her shield.

She released it. "HAAAAH!" Causing a gust of sound and wind...

and she abruptly vanished, like all Spirits could, she had the ability to get Lost.

Ryouko and Mario gritted their teeth in anger.

And Jessica just stared down at Mario.

* * *

Ah, yes, the building where Shido was forced to attend to practice for the ceremony. He yawned and lamented. "Why do I have to be here on a Saturday.. I hate Mondays more, too."**

Yeah, in short, the three gossipers persuaded him to do this. Typical them. They also said they'd prepare escorts but...

When he looked at the purple-hair girl and the white-hair girl, he would much rather ask for a trade.

Tohka started complaining. "Hey, you're getting too close to Shido!"

Origami retorted. "You should also keep your distance."

He exhaled.

Another woman walked in, probably their teacher. When Shido looked up, both he and Origami gasped...

Long indigo hair and a sailor uniform this time, Diva returned. Everyone was fawning for her as she made her introduction.

"Good afternoon. Thank you for coming, everyone."

* * *

Shido was looking at a camera in Fraxinus. It showed Diva, bright as day, performing on a show stage.

"This can't be true..."

"We gathered hidden footage from a secret concert she performed-" Kotori began "And gathered her name is Miku Izayoi. Honestly I didn't think she was a Spirit."

"So she's Miku..."

Mario sighed. "A nice-a name but a pain in the neck in personality..."

Luigi, who was on the Fraxinus, looked at Mario. "That's who attacked you all last night?"

Mario folded his arms. "Yeah, she ain't-a pretty."

Shido got two and two together. "Wait, you know her?"

Kotori started typing on the computer. "I've HEARD of her. She's done songs for commercials and TV shows. She debuted six months ago and she's already had many hits. Her voice and talents are considered 'hypnotising'. Even thought she's well known..." The computer showed Miku's stats; all unknown "She's never made an appearance in public. She can perfectly blend in human society compared to Kurumi."

"Hold on." Shido leaned in. "There's also that glitch figure."

"Mario knows as much as I do," Kotori folded her arms, "And we both agreed that her code name is Phantom."

Mario looked at the TV screen, showing Phantom next to Kotori. He pictured it in his mind. Instead of Kotori on the screen...

he pictured Bowser instead.

Both suffered the exact same fate.

Yellow Toad was sipping some soda while Blue Toad was juggling a baseball, something the latter would form a habit of doing.*** Yellow Toad spoke. "When we confronted her last night, she seemed to have an extreme distate for Shido."

Wario laughed. "Then that means she only likes girls! What a lesbo! Hah hah!"

Waluigi laughed with him. "Wah hah!"

Blue Toad went red a bit. "There's a rumor that she actually takes some female fans home..."

Shido and everyone else turned to Blue Toad. "Woah, you're kidding right?!"

Kotori fumbled her eyebrows. "The fat annoying yellow man is right." During her speaking, Wario went 'aaagh' as if to be suddenly offended, but Kotori continued speaking. "It seems Miku is a 'lesbo' that does indeed love other girls."

Mario turned his head towards Rabbid Peach and she was gone in an instant. Rabbid Luigi and Donkey Kong looked to where she used to be and was utterly confused.

Kotori continued. "And no, your weird Rabbid species ain't gonna cut it. You guys can't even seal Spirits in the first place."

Shido turned red and blue at the same time. "Then I can't do anything about her, won't I?!"

"We have a plan." Kotori snapped her fingers and two Ratatoskr member picked Shido up.

"Eh?" Shido spouted out.

Kotori gave him a thumbs up. "Good luck!"

**"...you'll need it, sister!"**

* * *

Shido heard Mario frequently pace around the metal hallways of Fraxinus via his communicator while Shido was in Raizen High's changing room setting up.

Mario lamented. "Why why why why why-"

Kotori ignored all ramblings and instructed. "Contact Miku while they're setting up the grounds, understand?"

"Are you absolutely SURE this will work?" Shido was putting on new clothes...

Mario rambled more. "No. It won't."

Kotori ignored him. "It will if Reine is correct about all this. Don't worry! The crew has given your charm a 10/10."

Shido was still setting up a more... different approach.

"I didn't... I didn't... I apologise..." Mario was apologetic through his voice.

And Shido put on new makeup... And then HE rambled. "Why do I have to do this?"

"Voice changer." Kotori reminded.

"I know..." Shido put on a bandaid on his throat, closing up his uniform and exiting the changing room, looking at himself in the mirror.

Well... Herself, now. She had long blue hair and a more girly uniform, but this was still Shido.

"Alright, let's go!" 'she' said.

* * *

...and tried to weasel her way out of a conversation with the three gossipers.

"So, that Shido guy...? He said there was something that he absolutely HAD to do... And I was told to fill in all his positions in his place...!" 'she' lied.

Ai clenched her fist. "That bastard!"

Then Mai. "What a total jerk!"

Then Mii. "That's so lame!"

Everyone eased up as they looked at 'Shido'. "By the way, who are you...?"

'Shido' sank like a stone. Here comes a lie.

"I-I'm Shido's cousin! Shidomi- No, Shiori Itsuka!" Shiori made up on the spot.

Tohka crept up to Shiori. "Shido, what are you doing-"

Shiroi silenced Tohka and brought 'her' voice to a whisper.

"I'm on an important mission... can you pretend you don't know me?"

Tohka also whispered. "You can count on me...!"

Tohka shook hands with Shiori. "Nice to meet you, girl-that's-not-Shido-in-disguise!"

Camera flashing was then present. Luigi was watching through the Fraxinus monitors and felt his stomach churn. Did he just get deja vu to something that doesn't happen yet?****

"Hm. Yes." Origami was the one taking pictures. "That's good Shiori. Bare with it all."

Origami was frequently taking pictures of Shiori while 'she' was screaming.

* * *

Shiroi was then walking up to a large building where the festival would take place.

Blue Toad was wearing sunglasses and acting as some sort of mafia boss. "Psst, Shiori, Miku's booth is within the first building."

"Thanks..." Shiori gave a thumbs up and continued forward.

Shiori then gave chase towards Miku towards a 'no-entry' building.

* * *

And there Miku was, on a boringly-lit stage with no audience.

"Alright... as Mario would say it.. Let's-a-go." Shiori whispered quietly to 'herself'.

Shiori approached Miku nervously and Miku turned with a glare in her eyes. "Oh?"

Shiori gulped as tension filled the room.

Miku brightly lit up. "What's your name?"

"Oh, I uh-I forgot and-"

Miku glared again. "You forgot?"

Kotori repeated. "You forgot?!"

Shiori quickly went into panic mode "I freeze up when I get nervous!"

"There's no reason to be nervous." Miku giggled. "But your character type, I like it..."

Kotori was reading the charts. "No values have dropped so far. Apparently Shiori is 'quirky'. Choices, everyone."

A set of choices appeared on everyone's computer screen, and of course, Mario, on the Fraxinus, just had to see that third option.

"Oh god."

And the majority of the votes went for option three.

Mario and Shiori gulped.

Shiori went cold. "Are you sure about this...?!"

Kotori didn't change her tone. "Say it like a joke."

Shiori largely exhaled. "Hey-"

Miku answered. "Yes?"

And Shiori put on 'her' best smiling face. "Would you like to sell the panties you're wearing for 30,000 yen?"

The Rabbids were also in Fraxinus, and they noticed Mario was gone. When they turned, they found Mario breathing heavily into a plastic bag.

Miku was shocked but smiled. "I won't sell them, but I could trade mine for yours!"

More heavy breathing came from Mario.

"Eeeh?!" Shiori was panicking.

Miku laughed. "That was a joke, silly. Anyway, shouldn't I be the one freaked by that question?"

"O-oh..." Shiori relieved 'herself'. "I was joking too.."

Miku walked up to Shiori. "Your uniform... Do you go to Raizen?"

"U-um.. yeah..." Shiori was uncomfortable when Miku was fiddling with the uniform's ribbons.

"Well, let's try this again." Miku stepped back and offered a hand to shake. "I am Miku Izayoi from Rindoji Girls' Academy."

Shiori stared. "Oh, it's nice to meet you. I'm Shiori Itsuka."

"...that's a very pretty name."

Kotori smiled. "Nice. Try asking her some questions."

Shiori began. "Uh, I thought this place was closed off. What were you doing here, Miku?"

Miku turned to face the empty audience seats. "I love the stage, you know."

"The stage?"

"Yes! I love feeling like everyone needs my song! I love that atmosphere!" She then turned to Shiori. "Except for you. Which leads me to believe you may never have heard of me."

"Uh, uh..."

Miku giggled. "It seems I put you on the spot. Don't worry about it. I won't tell anyone if you won't tell anyone. It could be our little secret." Miku put her finger on Shiori's lips as if to silence 'her'.

"Right..." Shiori was sweating all over.

"Now, it's about time we went back."

"Yeah." Shiori followed Miku but 'she' tripped on some wires that weren't seen before, like a certain klutz of a very weird harem anime.*****

Miku turned. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

She quickly pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around Shiori's bruised hand.

"O-oh.." Shiori looked at 'her' hand. "Thanks..."

"You're very welcome." Miku made her exit.

Shiroi kept staring at the injured hand...

* * *

...which was replaced by a bandage on Shido's hand.

Kotori was finally in her white ribbons and inside Shido's house on the couch. Next to her were Tohka and Yoshino.

"Is the hamburger steak ready, big bro?"

Shido replied. "Almost! Get the table set up!" He exhaled. "Man, being a guy again sure is relaxing..."

Kotori suddenly leaned in with her black ribbons. "You say that but you actually enjoyed it, didn't you?"

Mario also leaned in cuz he was also in the house. "I bet you would-a like to be a girl forever, Shedo."

"Don't be ridi-wait what did you just call me." Shido dropped to a low tone.

"I said Shido. Are you-a alright?"

Shido shrugged. "Must still have a light head."

Luigi blinked. "To think Miku Izayoi and Shido Hersuka would actually meet IRL."

Shido snapped his head to Luigi. "I keep thinking you guys are calling me girl puns!"

Kotori turned back to the table. "We're lucky you have an excuse to see Miku again. She has tea parties with girls she likes once a week." Kotori looked at the handkerchief that Miku gave Shido. "That's what we're aiming for."

Speaking of the devil, a Miku song was playing on TV.

Tohka's eyes lit up. "I wanna try that!"

Shido turned to Tohka. "Karaoke?"

"No!" Tohka pointed. "The bahdums!" She was referring to the drums. "Badum! Badum!"

Everyone just sheepishly laughed while the hamburgers were finally ready. Mario passed up on this and went out to eat spaghetti, of course.

* * *

Woah. That was a big building that Shiori was standing in front of. A group of girls slowly approached 'her'.

"What is your business here?"

"U-um... I met Miku yesterday in Tengu Square..."

"What, are you a fan?" One girl leaned in.

"Not really-"

"That's what they all say. I'm sorry but you're gonna have to-"

"Ah, Shiori!" Miku interrupted.

"Y-yo...!" Shiori nervously replied.

* * *

Yep. Shiori got lucky. 'She' was in the middle of a tea party with 'herself' and Miku alone.

"You... didn't have to do this..." Shiori said as Miku was pouring tea. "I was just saying thanks..."

"It's fine!" Miku denied. "I just happened to have good tea. And I had to treat you since you made your way all the way out here to return my handkerchief."

Shiori still questioned. "But it was supposed to be for those girls earlier, no? Feels kinda wrong to take their place."

"Don't worry about it! They're good and obedient girls that always do what I say."

Shiori took no mind to this sentence and sipped the tea that Miku just gave 'her'. "Woah, this is amazing!"

"Ah, I'm glad!" Miku giggled.

Then they talked the day away, helping themselves to luxury treats, while Shiori's stories made Miku laugh.

Then it was sunset.

Miku was amazed. "Wow, you're amazing, Shiori. You're a type I haven't had before."

"Huh?" Shiori was confused.

"Shiori, I've taken a liking to you." Miku got up and then sat down beside Shiori. "Please transfer to Rindoji tomorrow."

"...eh?"

"Now, don't you worry about the grades or the cost. I will request it be taken care of."

"Hold on!" Shiori panicked. "I can't make a big decision so easily!"

Miku leaned in and got right into Shiori's ear.

_**"Please reconsider."** _

...Mario, who was on Fraxinus, felt his stomach churn, but not as much as the Toads or the Wario Bros.

Wario groaned. "Agh, that voice, what was that-?"

Shiori stayed calm. "E-even if you say it like that..."

"What?-" Miku was surprised... "Shiori...?"

"W-what...?"

 _ **"Please submit yourself to me."**_ She did a weird voice again.

Yellow Toad groaned. "It's some sort of paranormal voice..."

Shiori lowered 'her' eyebrows and still remained calm. "Sorry, I can't do that."

Miku let go of Shiori. "Why aren't you doing as I say? Are you, by chance, a Spirit?" Now Miku was angry.

"Huh?"

"Don't force yourself to hide it. Because there's no way any normal person could disobey me." Miku walked over to a large glass window. She then turned to Shiori. "So what ARE you? A Spirit? Or worse, a Wizard who's hunting me down?"

"That's.." Shiori struggled to find an answer.

Waluigi thought to himself. "Now what?"

Kotori was also thinking. "If we cover it up, we'll have an opposite effect. It's a gamble, but try negotiating with her directly."

Shiori confirmed. "I'm not a Spirit. Nor a Wizard. I'm human."

"That's unfortunate. Lying isn't good for you."

"But I do have the power to seal Spirits."

"What do you mean?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like: I have managed to seal five Spirits so far. As long as your powers are sealed, the AST won't come after you. You can live peacefully in this world. If you will believe me, then let me help you.

Miku stayed silent.

Then she spoke.

"Okay, I believe you."

"Really?" Shiori leaned forward.

"BUT I don't need you to seal my powers."

"Wh-?"

"Because you know, I'm perfectly satisfied with the way my life is right now!"

Kotori grumbled. "That's her game? Keep convincing her, Shido."

Shiori continued. "Miku, you caused a spatial quake before, right? Doesn't that mean you don't have complete control over your powers?"

"Ara, you sure know a lot about me. Thank you for the thought, but there's no need to worry about me... because I started that spatial quake on purpose." Miku held a flower to her own lips.

"What." Shiori and Mario bit their lips simultaneously.

"I had never sung at Tengu Arena before. So when I passed by, I suddenly felt like singing. So I thought I'd just go for it!" She reached her arms into the air.

"..that was your reasoning?" Shiori was starting to get pissed.

"It can't be helped, can it? Because I wanted to sing, you know."

"If your friends were there, they could have died!" Shiori started to shout.

Miku put a finger to her own chin. "That would be troubling..."

"Yes-?"

"But the girls love me. They would be satisfied if they died for me."

That got dark and morbid really quick. The Rabbids could hear Mario's fist slowly clench as they hid behind Donkey Kong.

Shiori closed 'her' eyes. "Because they love you?"

"Shido! Calm down!" Kotori commanded.

Mario raised his hand. "Let him rant."

Miku continued. "Yes! Everyone loves me! They do whatever I ask!"

Shiori lifted her head "If that's the case.. I hate you."

Miku snapped out of her delusions and looked at Shiori. "Oh?"

"You're prideful and arrogant and intolerable!" 'She' pointed at Miku. "If everyone in the world just accepts you, then I'll reject you and your actions more than they accept you!"

Silence filled the air once more.

Miku finally responded. "Hmmmm? Being told that makes me want you even more." She dropped the flower and stepped on it with her foot as she made her way to Shiori. "It's made me want to tease you until you come to me crying with your tear-streaked face-" She forced Shiori to sit down and loomed over 'her' "...saying 'I love you'."

Shiori retorted. "I will NOT become yours!"

"Then.. How about we play a game? If Raizen wins first place on the first day of the festival, I'll let you seal my powers." Miku stepped back from Shiori.

"At the festival?!"

"Yes! I will be performing there too. You should perform something too."

"Wh-?! But you have way too much of an advantage!"

"You think so? From my point of view, I'm sparing you by letting you compete with me." Miku went back to intimidating Shiori. "But if Rindoji wins, I'll have your sealed Spirits, and you, as my own."

Shiori got LUCKY 'she' did not once mention the Mario crew.

"What do you say?" Miku kept looming. "Do you want to quit?"

Shiori could not believe it.

* * *

"Are you SERIOUS?" Ryouko slammed down some papers. In the room, also, was Jessica. Told you she'd be important.

"Ha, if you can't believe it, shall I prepare some signed documents for you?"

"Even if we go out on a limb and say the plan to capture the princess is fine, why are there a list of humans to capture? And the location is Tengu Square, the location of the FESTIVAL? You want to duke it out with Spirits at a major gathering event?!"

"This is a ceremony. A greetings to our beloved adversaries."

"What are you saying?!"

"Wait! I forgot! Make sure Origami Tobiichii doesn't know about this."

"Huh-" Ryouko was confused.

Jessica slowly walked out. "That is an order from the higher ups. If you have objections, don't hold back."

"What in the world..." Ryouko was genuinely confused. She looked at the papers. Plans to capture Tohka. She recognised two names. "Itsuka Shido... Mario... Weren't they related to Origami...?"

* * *

**Christ, this took a while. Now I'm back again with another chapter. Go crazy, whoop. Bullet L took up a few months, so here's some Sephira.**

***Pink Guy**

****Garfield**

*****Luigi's Mansion 3**

******Bullet L. Yep. I'm referencing my other fics. Oh god.**

*******To Love-Ru**


	24. Festival Of Disaster

**haha funny festival go brrr**

* * *

Mana woke up with a face mask on her. She was laying on a hospital bed with unfamiliar surroundings...

She took off the face mask. "Where am I...?"

She then remembered all the lethal bullets that she took from Kurumi.

"Why am I not dead?"

Just then, the door to the hospital room opened, showing shady looking businessmen. "Takamiya Mana."

"..." Mana sharpened her glare. "Who may you be?"

* * *

"I see..." Ai said with a smug aura. "Shiroi's virtue is being threatened! We'll do everything in our power to help you!"

Then Mai. "We lost a lot of band members because of Ai... So we're glad to have all three of you!"

Then Mii put her hands together. "That's so lame!"

Tohka clenched her fists. "This battle..."

Origami did not do anything at all. "There's no way we can lose."

"Thanks, Guys." Shiori addressed the three girls then turned to Origami and Tohka, surprised at their presence. "Wait, you guys are performing too?!"

Ai got close to Shiori. "By the way, what instruments can you play?" She asked as Mai and Tohka high-fived.

Shiori thought. "I can play a little guitar..."

Ai had a bass guitar out of nowhere. "I can play bass!"

Then Ai suddenly had a drum kit. "And I can play drums!"

"NOOOOOO!" Tohka lamented to herself. "The boom booms are already taken?!"

A dramatic spotlight appeared on Tohka as everyone just stared.

Ai was the first to be baffled. "The boom booms?"

"That's so lame..." Mii also looked over.

Shiori sighed. "Right, you wanted to play the drums... We can't let you trade places with an experienced drummer either..." Shiori leaned in to comfort Tohka. "Sorry, but you'll have to give them up this time, okay?"

Tohka pouted.

Shiori scratched 'her' head. "But what kind of instruments can you play anyway?"

"Tohka." Ai spoke up, as she held a sparkling object in her hand. "I will entrust this to you."

"This is..." Tohka looked up in all it's might...

Mai continued. "A legendary instrument that is extremely hard for normal people to handle!"

Then Mii gave her words of encouragement. "That's so lame!"

Tohka reached out and grabbed the instrument, basking in it's glory. "This is amazing!"

It was none other than the legendary...

tambourine

Tohka shook it around excitedly.

Shiori wiped off some sweat. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah! Just watch! I'm gonna play it!"

Shiori thought. "Now we just need a singer..."

Origami tapped the 'record' button on the microphone.

"...Origami?" Shiori turned.

And then Origami sang, despite her monotone voice.

It flashed to white due to how good she was.

Ai was impressed. "Woah, that was amazing, Origami!"

Mai was also impressed. "I didn't know you were that good at singing!"

"That's so lame!"

Shiori was pleased. "It's decided, then!"

Origami turned to the camera and gave a thumbs up. "For Shiori's victory."

Meanwhile, with the Mario crew (because they still exist)...

They were inside the Spirit Mansion, with Mario scraping his gloves against the smooth wooden table.

* * *

"M-Mario?" Luigi leaned in. "What's the matter, bro?"

"Hnngggh... This festival-a coming up..."

"H-huh?"

"I'm-a getting all antsy about it."

Wario leaned in too. "Argh, ya too scared to join or somethin'? Hah hah!"

Mario glared at Wario then continued. "No. I'm-a just saying that something most unfortunate could-a happen at the event!"

Waluigi shifted his eyes. "Dude, what if that Diva or Miku girl uses that weird voice?"

Everyone glared at Waluigi then said at the exact same time;

"DON'T SET OFF FLAGS!"

* * *

And then... the day of the festival arrived.

A loudspeaker came on. "We will now commence the Tenou Festival!"

Fireworks went off as people already bagged the stalls with food and games.

Cheers went up as the festival was about to begin.

Shiori, however, wasn't enjoying it.

...because everyone was in maid costumes.

Tohka was enjoying it, however. "It's so frilly!"

Kaguya folded her arms. "Gotta say, women's clothes look good on you, Shido!"

Yuzuru was just vibing. "Agreement: I want to take you home with me."

"Um..." Shiori had doubts. "This maid cafe-"

Ai was also there. "-is the best we can do to beat Rindoji! We've got a girl with an innocent and beautiful personality..."

Tohka gave a thumbs up.

"And twins with different personalities! And a tall, yet timid type..."

Shiori didn't want any of this.

"No man can resist this unbreakable bond!"

Mii also poked in. "That's so lame!"

Shiori noticed the elephant in the room. "Where's Origami?"

Yuzuru stared at Shiori. "Doubt: Now that you mention it, I have not seen her."

Tohka also peered in. "Did she oversleep?"

Ai sighed. "Well, you need to prepare yourself, poster girl!" She grabbed Shiori by the shoulders and started pushing 'her'. "We're counting on you to bring the customers in!"

Shiori peered out the window and looked alongside Tohka. There was a LOT of people in line!

Tohka was still excited. "Oh, I'm getting excited!"

Yuzuru also peered out. "Standby: We will follow your instructions, Shiori."

Kaguya ALSO peered out. "After all, you're head maid!"

If Shiori could, 'she' could just dye 'her' hair silver and wear a pocket watch to stop time as long as 'she' needed to get a breather. Alas, Shiori was still human.*

"M-me?! Uh... I guess my instruction is that we all work hard!"

Everyone cheered from that sentiment.

* * *

Now Shiori was outside, gathering the customers. "Come one, come all!"

'She' still had the mental state of 'please kill me'.

A voice came from 'her' left. "You seem to be faring pretty well, Shin."

"A-ah.." Shiori turned, noticing Reine, Yoshino and Mario.

"Reine! And..."

'She' turned to Yoshino, who had a quivering expression, and then turned to Mario, who had an unamused expression.

"Y-you guys..." Shiori sweatdropped.

"...nice-a cosplay." Mario abruptly said.

"Well... u-um..." Yoshino was also sweating. "Y-you look... u-um... c-cute..."

"NOOO!" Shiori's brain trembled.** "Don't say nice things to me while I'm in this shameful getup!"

Yoshinon also leaned in. "But that was a compliment!"

Yoshino confronted Shiori. "Um.. I'm looking forward to the performance..."

Mario had no mercy, however! "He's-a gonna look so stupid..."

"Thanks guys..." Shiori stopped quivering. "I'll do my best."

'She' sweatdropped as Yoshino and Reine went inside, leaving just 'herself' and Mario.

"You're the-a tourist attraction, huh? To be honest, you'd-a be in a LOT more trouble if-a someone fell in love with you."

Shiori quivered. "Don't set off flags!"

"I'm-a just saying..." Mario was speaking while Shiori was handing out advertisements. "They would probably file you up-a for 'missing' posters if you never go back to being a girl after-a this."

"Yeah? Well..." 'She' chuckled. "Don't be shy, Mario! There's always a spot open for you in the cafe!"

As 'she' handed out a flyer, 'she' noticed something odd.

Mario turned and noticed something REALLY odd.

In the distance, eating a toffee apple and staring right at the duo...

Was a black-hair woman who was covering her left eye with her hair.

Someone walked right past the duo, blocking their vision.

When the person was out of sight, so too, was the familiar girl.

Mario clenched his fist. _"Kurumi's here too. Does that mean that this festival's in danger? I knew Waluigi set off a flag!"_

Shiori had a different thought. _"Am I seeing things...?"_

And then Miku approached with a lot of 'lackeys' behind her.

Mario fumbled his eyebrows. He really could blast Miku in the face right now from sheer anger.

Miku noticed Mario too and could almost vomit. "Good morning... Shiori." Miku decided to just ignore Mario's existence. "It seems you are doing well."

Shiori passed a cold glare. "Thanks."

Miku eyed Shiori's outfit and giggled. "That maid outfit looks good on you. When I claim you as my own, I might make you wear those clothes all the time to serve me."

Mario clenched his fist. Even Miku's followers gasped a bit.

Miku sighed. "Uugh, can't take a hint. **Why don't you all go somewhere else?** " She did her weird voice again.

Thankfully Mario and Shiori were immune to it. They finally put two and two together. Shiori thought first. _"So that's Miku's power..."_

"...the ability to brainwash." Mario finished the thought.

"That's much better." Miku breathed. "Although... I still need to get rid of the freaky alien here."

Mario snapped, but remained calm. "Don't-a worry... I was-a just leaving."

Mario stomped off, leaving just Miku and Shiori.

Shiori grumbled more. "You stand out too much for someone checking out the enemy."

"That's not what I'm doing." Miku answered. "I came to ask you out on a date." She smiled.

"..a date?"

* * *

And they were actually going to the date. We cut to the middle of Shiori buying Miku a crepe. They bought two together. Miku bit into hers.

"Mm, it's so good!"

* * *

Mario was roaming through the festival. Luckily, Luigi and the Toads managed to follow.

Luigi scratched his head. "I've heard some rumor that some scary skyscraper keeps Spirits locked up and seals their memories..."

"If that-a skyscraper just so happens to be-a DEM... then that-a explains why she's here."

Blue Toad had a questioning look. "Huh? She?"

"...Kurumi." Mario's eyes had a glint in them. Almost of anger.

"...No idea who that is." Luigi shrugged. "I assume it's that black-hair girl that I saw when rescuing you..."

"That's-a her." Mario confirmed.

Yellow Toad was shaking. "Mario, you seem to reek of hatred... The smell of hatred looms over you..."

Blue Toad sighed. "Can't blame him. When we first found him, his only company was the Rabbids, and he looked so depressed when we found him in the rain..."

Mario continued making his way down the festival. "Reeking of hatred, huh...?"

Yellow turned to Blue. "Speaking of which, where are the Rabbids?"

Blue pondered, thinking back, and then answering. "Oh yeah! They're playing the carnival games with the Wario Bros."

"If anything.." Mario still grumbled. "They should be the 'freaky aliens'..." He looked around the festival, and even the normal humans looked like Spirits.

There was a red-hair girl with purple eyes accompanied by a yellow-ponytail girl with blue eyes.

Mario grumbled and shifted his eyes away from the duo.

"Anyone with-a vibrant colors stand out. Like those oddly-specific detailed humans that the author just mentioned in-a the previous two lines! (and totally not foreshadowing any future and unfortunate events!)"

...Yellow blinked. "Does that mean we stand out too?"

"Shut up."

* * *

"Ah, Shiori!" Miku waved over. "Look here! A ring toss! What prize do you want? I'll get it for you!"

"Huh... Um...?" Shiroi walked over and saw a cat plushie. "I'll take that one..."

"Then leave it to me!" Miku grabbed the three rings from the gamemaster.

"Ha!" She threw one.

Miss.

"Take this!"

Another miss.

"How about THIS?!"

She threw again and...

...miss.

"Oh my, it's pretty hard." Miku lamented.

Shiori chuckled a bit. "Don't worry, Miku. I'll get it for-"

Shiori didn't even finish 'her' sentence as Miku's eyes narrowed and turned to the gamemaster. **"Please give me that cat plushie."**

She used her voice. Shiori gaped in awe. Not from amazement, but from pure bewilderment...

Miku simply offered the plush to Shiori. "Here you are, Shiori."

Shiori had enough. "What are you doing?"

"This isn't the one you wanted? Then I'll exchange-"

"That's NOT IT! Don't you know this isn't how things are done?!"

"...then what am I supposed to do...?"

"You have to toss the rings to get the prize."

"Really?" Miku sighed. "Then what do you do if you don't get it?"

"Then you give up on that." Shiori turned. "Isn't it sad for those girls if you force them like that?"

"Sad? Shouldn't those girls be happy that I would even accept it?"

"Seriously?!"

Miku let out her true side again. "It's fine anyway! Humans are my pawns and playthings! I think highly of you. It's not something you need to worry about!"

Shiori's eyes were purely twitching. "I'm definitely going to beat you at this festival. So I can MAKE YOU get to know humans."

"You're saying some strange things..."

"It's okay if you don't understand right now. But don't underestimate humans! If you think everything will go your way, you're in for a surprise."

Miku went smug again. "Oh? Then let's test it. Let's end our date here for today. I'll be waiting for you on stage... if you're able to perform, that is."

Miku left with those threatening words.

* * *

Welp, it was the stage portion. Mario was at the now-empty festival stalls, because everyone wanted to hear the singing.

They finally dragged the Rabbids along, which is good. Wario and Waluigi were absent as they wanted to hear the festival songs too.

Blue Toad and Yellow Toad were waving Mario off as the duo went into the tower themselves.

That left just Mario, Luigi and the Rabbids, because Donkey Kong apparently isn't important enough.

Luigi brought his voice low. "Okay, so I brought in some intel from those Wario Bros..."

"Uh huh..." Mario nodded.

"That cheating Miku brainwashed Shido's friends so they wouldn't perform!"

They heard crowd cheers come into the stadium. "I wonder if they can-a handle it? I'll make-a sure to give Miku an EXTRA beating for-a this!"

Mario slammed his fists together, grinning.

Donkey Kong pointed upwards. "Ook aah?"

"You're right, DK!" Mario pointed. "We need to survey the top for any maintenance!"

Mario went inside the stadium along with everyone else.

* * *

They were in the dark hallways now.

"If we-a make a single sound, then we'd-a look suspicious..." Mario looked for a way to get to the top.

"Why's it so dark anyway?" Luigi looked around.

Kotori finally chirped in. "The reason for that, Luigi, is that I hacked the lights a little to sabotage Miku's performance."

Mario sighed. "That's-a still pretty heartless for you, Kotori-"

Luigi then noticed a purple glow. "Uhm... Mario?"

Mario, the Rabbids and Donkey Kong all turned to the purple glow on the stage.

"Shaddai El Chai!" Miku chanted.

Miku's generic outfit vanished in a stellar glow and was replaced by her yellow Spirit outfit. Her flashy head accessory appeared on her indigo hair too.

Miku grinned. "Alright! The real concert starts now!"

The crowd holding purple glowsticks roared with cheer.

Mario covered his eyes from the sheer brightness.

Then, Miku started singing.

_"When the monochrome sky-"_

Mario belted towards the backstage without being seen by the crowd, then he saw a ladder to the top.

_"turns colors, the world begins-"_

"Come on! This-a way!" Mario jumped onto the ladder, then paused as he saw Donkey Kong carrying a grumbling Wario and Waluigi.

"Hey! We wanted to watch the show!" Wario flailed.

"Yeah, well, we need all-a the help we can get!" Mario slowly climbed upwards.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the skies...

"Adeptus 4 to 12, move to the defined locations and be ready to attack. The twenty Bandersnatch in Outer 1, prepare to rush in!"

Mario burst open the hatch to the tower, the wind hitting his face. "Looks like I-a made it..."

The first voice in the scene grinned. Oh god, it was Jessica. Of course it was her of all times to show up.

Jessica looked down on Mario. "Looks like I found them at last!"

The Rabbids came up next. First Rabbid Luigi, then Rabbid Peach.

Then Wario and Waluigi were hauled up, with Donkey Kong behind them.

Last to appear and the one who closed the hatch was Luigi.

As soon as he closed the hatch, Luigi flinched. "Ah! Isn't that the-?!"

"It is." Mario shrugged. "Well, what happens happens."***

Jessica pointed her finger. "Bandersnatch! Put those freaky aliens out of their misery!"

As soon as the Bandersnatch was about to charge in, it was blasted away by a beam.

"That's-!" Jessica looked up.

Mario looked up and saw a white-hair figure. "Origami."

Jessica growled at her teeth. "That little suit has left many crippled by it... The strongest it is! Why is SHE using it?!"

Origami aimed her gun.

Everyone turned to Origami. "Change of plans! Bring her down too!"

The DEM wizards charged at Origami as the battle began.

Mario looked up. Then Jessica remembered Mario as she noticed him too.

"Oh no." Mario started to sweat.

"As for you," The female massively grinned. "I'll take you on myself!" She charged at the group.

"Waaagh!" Luigi and Rabbid Luigi cowered in fear.

Mario stood his ground. He knew his friends were not that worthless. He closed his eyes to imagine the scene.

And when Jessica was just about to swing at Mario...

Donkey Kong punched Jessica forward as he sprinted after her.

The reason why he's not falling off the tower? The top was wide and massive, perfectly big for a full-scale battle.

He leapt up and did a combo on her as he punched her further back.

When he sprinted more, a Bandersnatch unit blasted a shot at him, sending him back.

Mario gripped his hammer handle. "We can't-a just sit back! It's-a PAYBACK time!" Mario charged forward.

So did everyone else! Now it really was payback time!

Wario and Waluigi took the front lines as they did their bootleg versions of Bounce Bros, with Waluigi launched high up in the air, and hitting a DEM wizard with his tennis racket.

Rabbid Luigi was cornered by FIVE Bandersnatch units, but Rabbid Peach blasted them away with a Sentry.

Mario used this opportunity to run through the explosions of the Bandersnatch to use Team Jump with Rabbid Peach to leap up into the air.

It was meaningless, or was it?

Mario landed on the floor, and jumped again. A double jump!

This time, he landed on a sliding Luigi's feet, bouncing up again.

He landed on the ground again, and finally. A triple jump! "Woohoo!"

He pulled out his hammer mid-jump and curved it back a bit to charge up an extra-powerful slam.

His hammer gleamed, indicating a charged-up move... And Mario slammed Jessica straight to the roof with that slam!

Luigi pulled out his own hammer. "Grr-hrrmph!" He growled as he knocked Jessica upwards again with a fury-induced uppercut. "HYARGH!"

During their air mobility, Origami activated Territory around all the Wizards, and then activated brutal mass-fire missiles that cut through the Wizard's jetpack supply and blew up the Bandersnatch. A bunch of Wizards fell to the ground.

Jessica growled herself. "Send reinforcements!"

She glared at Origami as more Wizards charged at Team Mario.

* * *

"Reine." Kotori fussed. "We're having some difficulty in the sky above the stage. Mario's circus has SOME of it under control, but we may need you here."

"I understand." Reine confirmed, and turned to Yoshino and the Toads. "I have to go. Do you three wish to come with?"

"I'll stay." Yoshino quietly said.

Blue Toad had an evil grin. "I mean, if Shiori's little maid getup is on stage, I'd have to record!"

"I see." Reine smiled for once and then left.

Shiori, the Yamai sisters and Tohka were walking to the stage.

Shiori gulped. "Are you sure you'll be alright with zero practice?"

Kaguya smirked. "Don't underestimate us. We have already mastered these kind of instruments!"

Shiori kept trying to communicate with Kotori, but nothing was working. "Kotori... Is everything okay?"

The lights on the stage blared. Welp. Too late for that now.

Everyone prepared their instruments.

* * *

Origami slaced a Bandersnatch unit in half as Mario kicked the bottom half off the tower.

"Ghh..." Mario flexed his toes a bit. "That-a hurts my feet more than I'd-a hope..."

The metal used to make Bandersnatch was no joke.

* * *

Shiori went up to the microphone, prepared themselves...

And Shiori tried to lip-sync a song...

But there was no sound.

Kotori fumbled. "Gaaaah! The battle up at the tower's top is causing an audio malfunction! Shido! You'll have to sing live!"

Shiori was massively sweating. "Even if I had to, I.."

Then Tohka started tapping her tambourine.

_"Taking all these things upon myself_

_Even things I could do without_

_Excuses to make things better with a strange pride_

_Ignoring my own faults_

_Saying this and that about others_

_Even though I didn't mean to say them_

_Turning robotically, tic and tac_

_What does 'go for it' mean anyway?"_

Blue Toad and Yellow Toad started bumping their heads to the rhythm.

If things just don't go your way...

Massively improvise!

Shiori grabbed her guitar.

* * *

_"Attention! One question!_

Origami fired her lasers at the Wizards as Luigi brought out his own hammer to slam down some Bandersnatch units.

_Somehow being caught up in things_

_Is the water over there sweet?_

Origami was sweating, but she would be alright, for her enemies were teaming up with her.

Wario chucked a deactivated Bandersnatch Unit at Jessica.

_Yes no, yes no_

"Damn it! DAMN IT!" Jessica fired without any indication or reason.

_The moment I looked around me_

_Only here was time stopped_

_Color!"_

Jessica massively was INFURIATED. **"What the hell ARE YOU?! TELL MEEEE!"**

Mario's party was roaring with cheer as they kept with their battles.

* * *

Their song was over. Tohka winked as the crowd went WILD.

Shiori was breathing heavily. They actually did it... The mad lasses (and secret lad)****

"SHIDO! WE DID IT!" Tohka high-fived Shiori.

"Y-yeah!"

* * *

"Shoot! SHOOT!" Jessica's pupils were shortened as ballistic missiles kept firing at Origami's Territory. Rabbid Luigi's shield was just being knocked around like a pinball due to the sheer force of some missiles.

Origami analysed the scene. "There's too many of them-!" Then the missiles broke Origamis' Territory.

The sheer force caused Origami's nose to bleed. She looked at the running blood. "This is-" Her vision turned crimson.

Jessica laughed wildly. "This is the end, Exceptional Wizard!"

Mario's crew looked worse for wear too. They looked up at the sky and saw MORE Bandersnatch units. Luigi shivered and hid behind Mario.

Mario clenched his fist. "They-a sent reinforcements..."

Jessica grinned. "The tables are turned! Don't think you'll get away injury-free."

Mario's eyes turned green as the color of a Bandersnatch unit's laser was coming at him.

He closed his eyes.

* * *

**One thing this series sorely lacked was fight scenes with Mario's crew, so I tried to fix that with this chapter. Lemme know how it felt.**

***Touhou**

****Re:Zero**

*****Book of Mario 64**

******Super Mario Maker 2**


	25. Bad To Worse

The loudspeaker boomed again. "And now, I will announce the Tengu Festival performance results!"

Meanwhile, the battle in the sky still raged on. Origami was darting past some bullets and Mario was using Origami's mech as a SURFBOARD while he pulled out his hammer and bonked any nearby wizards.

"...Senjo University High School!" A spotlight came on said group.

Cool. The least relevant school got last place. Shiori still had hope.

Origami's vision was distorted by the wizards as she barrel rolled away from the missiles. Mario was teetering to stay on.

"...just a step below first, Raizen High School!" A spotlight came under Shiori.

"U-uh?!" Shiori couldn't believe it.

Meanwhile, Origami gasped a bit. That was so many damn missiles. She launched Mario into the air and did a massive backroll.

"And the school that receives first place for the stage portion is... Rindoji Girls' Academy!"

A spotlight came on Miku, and a most evil smirk was planted on her face. This was PLANNED.

The crowd went wild upon Miku reaching first place.

She giggled while keeping her grin.

The loudspeaker continued. "Next, we will announce the winners for the total results!"

The spotlight dimmed and Miku took her chance to approach Shiori. "See? It's all because you relied on your friends that this happened. A promise is a promise." She reached out to touch Shiori. "Now you and all five of the Spirits you sealed belong to me."

Blue Toad smirked. "Little does Miku know..."

The loudspeaker continued again. "The winner for overall results in Day 1 go to... Raizen High School!"

A spotlight came onto Shiori. Both 'she' and Miku were confused. Buuut the crowd went wild anyway. Innocent little crowd.

Shiori was ultimately confused. "First... Us?"

The loudspeaker then explained. "The food booth portion allowed Raizen High to dominate top spot as number one!"

Meanwhile, Tonomachi was sitting right next to the Toads. "It's quite simple! Miku's performance on stage was surely a lot of pressure. However, Rindoji usually excels in the food booth portion. They failed that this year."

The Toads nodded and Shiori couldn't be any more happier.

Tohka instantly ran to hug Shiori. "Shidoooo!"

Kaguya chuckled. "Of course we won!"

Yuzuru just kinda vibed there. "Of course. Nobody beats us."

"We won! We won! WE WON!" Shiori cheered.

Miku was fidgeting her fingers in pure anger as the spotlight was no longer there. "You must be kidding me... What do you MEAN I lost...?" Miku stepped forward, all the spotlights dimming. "I'm Miku Izayoi, you know?! I'm... I'm..."

"Miku." Shiori stepped forward.

Miku twitched and turned to Shiori. "Stop it! I-I beat you... I beat you fair and square!"

Shiori continued. "The reason we won is because... How do I put it... is because of that 'relied on friends' thing?"

Blue Toad felt the savagery.

Miku's voice went quieter. "Friends?"

"It's true I couldn't beat you in singing, but the other students at Raizen covered for me. Even those humans you look down on can beat you when they band together. THAT'S why, Miku, you should..."

Miku turned away from Shiori. Silence fell for a few seconds before she uttered words.

"Shut up."

"H-huh?" Shiori took a step back.

"Friends? Coming together? Give me a break. Let me tell you. Those things... They're meaningless when you face me! _**GABRIEL**_!"

A gust of wind knocked everyone around Miku back. Just then, a giant organ was slowly raised. Golden colored and massive, covering the width of the entire stage. Organ music was also playing.

"MIKU! WAIT! PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!" Shiori begged.

A wide floating keyboard was also in front of Miku. "Sing! Sing! Sing! GABRIEL!"

Sound waves came out of the keyboard, causing Shiori to cover 'her' ears.

Tohka was simply wide-eyed at the situation. So were the Yamai.

The glowsticks the crowd once had dimmed completely. Yoshino was also flabbergasted, and the Toads simply blinked.

"T-this is..." Shiori looked around at the dark audience area. "Miku...?! Don't tell me...?!"

Just then, a rumble was heard from the roof. Oh, right, the battle atop. A red figure crashed through the roof to the back of the audience area, followed by many other figures.

Mario groaned and rubbed his head. "That-a hurt... Wait...!" He looked towards the stage.

Rabbid Peach equipped her Blaster while Luigi simply hid behind Mario.

Miku grinned at Shiori. "They WERE your friends, weren't they? So lovely. So wonderful." She giggled. "And so easily broken." She then pressed three keys on the keyboard. Everyone's glowsticks turned purple. Mario was utterly shocked.

"W-wha..?!"

The other Spirits were completely drained from the music as a few Rindoji girls apprehended Shiori. "Let go!"

Just then, Mario, Luigi and Rabbid Peach jumped on stage behind Miku, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

"I don't care about the promise anymore." Miku walked towards Shiori. "Because there isn't a single thing in this world that doesn't go the way I want!"

She touched Shiori's dress and slowly traced her finger down. "You, the Spirits, everyone... They all belong to me."

She then stopped her finger at a peculiar spot. Mario was about to charge in to attack Miku when he stopped to see where her finger was. He actually stopped charging to let out a snicker.

Ah, yes, the forbidden depths of a MAN. That's where Miku was touching. Poke... Poke poke...

Luigi furrowed his eyebrows at Mario. "Can you save the immature jokes for later?"

Poor Luigi had to say that out loud. She turned and recognised Mario.

"That ugly alien man... A-and... What I'm touching... U-uh...?"

Shiori's dingdong was about to become King Kong.

She stepped back. Realising the situation. Seeing Mario reminded her of a MAN... And the feeling of a MAN reverted back to gazing at Shiori...

"WHAT DID I JUST TOUCH?!" Miku pointed. "N-no! It can't be! C-check at once!"

More girls completely invaded Shiori's privacy. And sure enough, the forbidden 'meatballs' were shown.

**"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!"**

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" Miku and Mario were horrified. Miku because of... the meatballs... And Mario, because of the lack of privacy.

Miku staggered her pointing. "S-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-SHIORI?! N-n-n-n-n-no! Are you actually a man?! You're all males?! Even that BUNNY?! Is that BUNNY A MAN?!" She reverted her eyes to Rabbid Peach.

If Rabbid Peach had fingers, she would show Miku the middle one.

"M-m-m-mm-Miku!" Shiori stepped forward. "Calm down! I'm-!"

"GAAAAAAAAABRIEL!"

Even more soundwaves were produced. The wind effect actually knocked the Rindoji girls away. Mario lost all form of humor and had a serious glance this time. The glowsticks turned RED as the audience slowly rose up like zombies.

"How dare you?!" Miku shouted. "How DARE you trick me?!"

Shiori went angry, and tried to look for an escape route. Great. Absolutely nowhere. Her only chance now was to stop Miku.

Shiori actually sprinted at Miku but was stopped by an ice gust. There, Shiori saw ZADKIEL.

"Rehehehe! That's dangerous!" Zadkiel giggled.

And who else could pilot Zadkiel but YOSHINO.

"I will.. protect Miku." Yoshino spoke.

Shiori looked up. "Yoshino?! But that can mean-?!"

'She' then blocked herself from a hurricane blast.

Kaguya smirked. "You fool. You think we would defy Miku?"

Aaand Yuzuru too. "Scorn: We won't let you get any closer."

Mario's foot went forward on instinct. "Don't-a give up just yet!"

He ran forward at Miku in a desperate attempt. He jumped up high in the air to stomp on her, but was dealt a heavy kick and landed back down.

"Mario!" Luigi cried. The green plumber looked at the source of the kicking.

Wario's face was all he saw. "Wahahahah! To think you would DARE harm Miku! Death shall be your toll!"

Rabbid Peach wasn't having any of it. She attempted to snipe Miku with her Blaster but someone rushed in and took the hit.

Yellow Toad ran to Blue Toad. "Boy, are you okay?"

Blue Toad got up. "Yep! Ain't nobody gonna shoot Miku like that!"

Wario and Waluigi faced Luigi and Blue Toad and Yellow Toad faced Rabbid Peach.

Mario's face was FUMING. "Miku got-a you guys too, huh?" He balled up his fists. "That-a ain't gonna stop me! Rabbid Peach! The-a sentry!"

Rabbid Peach sent out her Sentry, distracting the Wario Bros, the Toads and even the Spirits to destroy it before it harmed Miku.

"Now! Shido!"

Mario and Shiori both lept up into the air to combine their power.

But then, a glitchy presence was in Mario's mind. "Gah! That-a hurts..."

When Mario's foot collided with Miku, a flash of white appeared.

* * *

Luigi was shaking Mario awake. "Mario! Things have gone from bad to VERY worse!"

Mario slowly woke up. "What-a are you talking about...?"

When Mario turned to face Rabbid Peach, even she was quivering. Mario turned to the source. Yes, Miku, The Spirits, and the brainwashed Mario cast were still there, staring at him.

He then noticed a shadow above them all. Mario's eyes looked up and they shrunk in fear.

There was a large ghost-like figure, donning a fancy opera-singer outfit. It's bottom half had a cellophone inside it. A handkerchief in it's hand and a fabulous mustache. Mario's surprise was most concerned with...

It was a Rabbid. And Mario KNEW this Rabbid.

_The Phantom of the Bwahpera returned?!_

**"THINGS GOT VERY WORSE!"** Luigi insisted.

Miku was looking at Mario. "Did you do this, ugly alien? Because of this strange ghost, that damn Shiori got away! Along with one of my girls!"

Mario looked at the ceiling past Phantom. Sure enough, there was a hole in it.

Luigi had to explain to Mario again. "That blonde girl from the island crashed in and took Tohka away while Shido was escorted! Shido got away, but Tohka..."

"It-a got very worse..." Mario gritted his teeth.

Phantom-no, to avoid confusion with the glitch Phantom, we're naming the Rabbid one Tom Phan, finally spoke.

"It seems I have been reviiiived! And our front-row guests are right... here!" He pointed at Mario.

Mario prepared his fists. "I'll-a take you on anyday, Phantom! Or should I call-a you Tom Phan so you aren't as-a worthy as the glitch?"

Luigi shook Mario. "MARIO! It's not worth it! We're completely surrounded!"

Yoshino, the Yamai, the Toads, and the Wario Bros all stared at the three unbrainwashed people.

Mario, Luigi and Rabbid Peach.

Miku grinned. "Well, looks like the ghost would like to work with me! And I always like that favour! But what I don't get..." She put a finger to her own chin. "...is how you aren't under my control."

Mario pieced it together VERY quickly. The three unbrainwashed people were all present during the Bowser fight in the Mushroom Kingdom. And they all had physical contact with Bowser, brutal or not...

Could Bowser's power somehow have leaked it's way into their group?

Mario was about to touch his own ear to communicate Kotori when Luigi stopped him.

"Don't do it, bro... Shido tried earlier. Kotori's brainwashed too!"

"Gh... No... We're-a SEVERELY doomed..."

Mario's train of thoughts were interrupted by a slam behind them. He turned and faced Donkey Kong.

"Not-a you too.. please..."

Donkey Kong grabbed the group, Mario preparing for his death.

But instead, he saw Donkey Kong winking?

Rabbid Luigi jumped up and aimed his rocket launcher at the heroes. Even he was brainwashed.

With enough propelled force, Donkey Kong jumped out of the hole in the ceiling, dodging out of the way of Rabbid Luigi's rocket. However, Rabbid Peach escaped his grasp and fell back down into the stage area.

"Rabbid Peach!" Luigi reached his hand out.

She pointed at Tom Phan before she was out of sight by the Bros. She was going to deal with this ghost herself.

Finally, the Bros. and Donkey Kong landed. He let them go and gave a thumbs up.

"Donkey Kong!" Luigi was relieved. "B-but how aren't you brainwashed?"

Mario put his hands to his hips. "I-a think he's-a too stupid..."

Donkey Kong and Luigi both gave Mario an unamused glare. Then they stopped to reach a mutual agreement.

Oh, right, the entire audience area exited the stage and were now surrounding the trio.

"I-a don't wanna hurt them.. but.."

Donkey Kong slammed the audience into the air with a mighty slam move.

"Uwa-?!" Luigi lost his balance.

"I think that's-a out cue! MOVE IT!" Mario dragged Luigi away from the fight scene, leaving Donkey Kong with the audience and Rabbid Peach with Tom Phan.

The team was stretched a bit thin. Only Mario and Luigi remained as they kept runnning, sweatdrops slowly forming on their foreheads.

"Mario! Where do we go?!"

Mario saw a certain blue-hair schoolBOY entering an abandoned skyscraper. "Shido! That's where we-a go!" He picked up the pace and ran straight in.

* * *

Meanwhile, two other familiar characters were surrounded by brainwashed civillians. A blue-robed Koopa and the young prince himself.

"Lord Junior... This looks bad... Even with your enthusiasm... We can't make it..."

Bowser Jr. groaned. "I wanna be useful for once! I'll take 'em all on!"

Kamek just nodded and opened up a portal with magic. "Go. This will take you to a safe place."

Bowser Jr. whined at first but Kamek pushed his own lord into the portal and closed it.

And with that, the Magikoopa summoned his broomstick and flew away from the crowd.

* * *

Shido looked at his phone. A news broadcast was airing. "A few minutes past 5pm today, the mysterious disturbance at the site of the Tengu Festival spread throughout the city in an instant. It's population has led to tens of thousands of people..."

Donkey Kong vs. a thousand people was not a pleasant thought.

Shido had different thoughts, though. He just witnessed Tohka being taken away by Ellen. "Tohka...!"

He heard footsteps approach. Shido prepared himself for the worst.

Mario and Luigi ran upstairs and tripped on each other.

" _MARIO! GREEN GUY_! You're alive! Thank goodness! I thought that strange ghost took your life..."

Mario spat on the floor due to how exhausted he was. "Nope... We-a just barely managed to escape... with a few-a sacrifices..."

Shido lamented. "Dammit! What do we do?! We're just three guys..."

A female giggle echoed throughout the building and the three huddled up together. Was this Miku?

And yes, it was moonlight, so everything was ten times harder to see!

Mario pulled out his hammer, and the same with Luigi.

Shido squinted his eyes and saw a figure slowly emerge.

A gothic dress with uneven twintails...

The three men gasped.

"Kurumi?!" Luigi sputtered.

Kurumi spoke after emerging from the darkness. "You three are in such a tight spot. You look like you're in such a bind! Care for a little chat?"

Mario's grip on his hammer slowly loosened.

"Kurumi..." Shido was angry too.

"Yoshino and the Yamai have been taken by a rogue spirit. A random ghost has been 'resurrected' to join this Spirit. Along with plenty of Mario's friends as well. On top of that, Tohka has been taken by DEM. What a despair-ridden path."

Mario's eyes went up to down on Kurumi, noting the shadows below her feet were the unnatural ones she could summon.

"I know everything about you, you know."

"So.." Shido looked up. "You're not controlled, then?"

Kurumi giggled a bit. "Oh my, how sweet, you think I'm so easily swayed by that performance?"

Shido stayed silent and spoke up. "Kurumi, I'm sure all three of us have a favor to ask."

"Mhm..." Mario nodded. "Wait, we do?"

"Please.. lend me your strength to save EVERYONE!"

"Well-"

"I know that you're after me! But before that, please! Us three can NOT do this alone!"

Kurumi balled up into a laughter. "What a surprising turn of events! Yes, yes! How surprising!"

* * *

Tohka blinked, but only saw white. "Morning already...? First, I have to open my eyes... After I get off the bed, I have to wash my face... Then I eat breakfast and go to school with Shido..."

Then she fully waked up, realising she had been strapped to a chair with wires connecting to her and her wrists were handcuffed.

"Where am I...?"

Another figure walked in the room. "Are you awake?"

"You-!"

The figure was someone Tohka detested. It was an ash-blonde woman. Ellen.

"Please calm down. With your strength right now, you won't be able to break those bonds."

"Don't mess with me! Take it off! I have to go save everyone!"

"We are also looking for the whereabouts of Shido and 'Mario'... They will probably be here in a few days. But if Shido resists.. then he may have a broken arm. Or two. Or even a broken leg. Or two."

Tohka gritted her teeth and struggled to get out of the chair.

Ellen's hair flowed in the wind, causing Tohka to get surrounded by Territory.

"T-this is?!" Tohka was struggling to breathe, an ear-piercing sound getting louder.

"My Territory is the most accurate out of all the Wizards. Please understand that resistence is futile."

She let go of the Territory and Tohka sputtered to get her breath back.

"Now, let me ask you a few questions."

* * *

Kurumi and Shido were ever-so casually walking down empty streets.

Mario and Luigi, however, not so casual. Especially Luigi. He was whipping his flashlight all over the place.

Once Shido saw the nervousness of the Mario Bros, he started jogging to go a bit faster. "Oi, Kurumi... Are we really raiding Miku's house right now?! I still have a few questions! Like, can't we go for Tohka right now?!"

Kurumi stopped in front of the gate. "It's true the Tohka problem is huge... but we must take care of the Miku problem first."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the empty, zombie-fied streets of the city, someone was watching it all from a skyscraper roof.

The same skyscraper that Mario hid in.

The certain someone laughed and turned. "If you win this impossible oddity... You'll fight me again." The figure walked out of sight while laughing.

_**"Gwahahaha."** _

* * *

"Wow, Shido! Take a look at THIS!"

Mario turned and instantly wished he could unsee.

"Jesus-a Christ, Kurumi. Are you-a really invading Miku's underwear? AT A TIME-A LIKE THIS?"

"This bra's almost as big as your head, Mario!"

"You're all so serious." Kurumi was lighthearted despite the seriousness of this situation. "Go on, Shido! I wanna see YOU try it on!"

Shido stepped back from the approaching Kurumi. "Why would I?!"

"Aaah. I see. Then perhaps SHIORI would like to try it on?" She teased.

Luigi awkwardly looked away. "You saw the whole situation, huh."

"Well, yes. But the thing is, I never got the chance to see it up close. I would like to carefully see it sometime, though!"

Shido went in a defensive state. "S-stop joking around!"

"You're all no fun." Kurumi pouted. "Just a little while is fine. I wanna see Shiori's face tremble in humiliation."

Shido went even more defensive. "Stop it! Leave Shiori alone!"

"Why not? Why not?!" Kurumi stepped closer and closer.

"O-oi now!" Luigi stepped into a defensive state. "We really don't have time for this! Rabbid Peach is by herself dealing with a ton of Spirits and-!"

Kurumi didn't notice Luigi's foot was in the way and tripped down, taking Shido with her.

"O-ow!" Shido lifted his head up. "Are ya alright, Kurumi?"

"Yes. I'm fine." Kurumi grinned. "Because a big brave knight took the fall for me."

Mario stomped his foot in impatience, and with that, a ca-klink sound was heard. Something dropped to the floor.

"O-oh?" Everyone looked. It was a CD. The cover album had a familiar diva on it, but with a different name.

Mario read the label. "Tsukino Yoimachi?"

Kurumi looked at a photo she recently picked up. "This looks interesting too."

Shido squinted his eyes. "That's..."

Kurumi took the album from Mario and the picture she had and held them in both hands. She then held them both in one hand and pulled out one of her pistols.

"Aaaah!" Luigi screamed. "Kurumi! That's dangerous-!"

"Zafkiel! Yod!" Shadows entered her pistol and shot herself using the album and the picture as her 'cover'.

"KURUMI!" Everyone shouted.

Kurumi laughed out loud. "Don't worry! I'm fine! Yod's power is recollection. It's an attack that allows me to see past memories of the target."

"Memories?" Shido squinted again.

"It seems Miku is.."

* * *

"Dammit!" Wario slammed his fist on the wall. "Everyone escaped from you, Miku!"

"Did you find those four survivors?"

"Well, yes..." Waluigi averted his gaze.

"There's no doubt about it!" Blue Toad nodded.

"I see..." Miku grinned. "I suppose I have you to thank for stalling them, Mr. Tom Phan."

The phantom Rabbid boasted in confidence.

Miku continued. "So, who captured him? If it's a female, I'll lovingly embrace them! If it was a man... well... uh... give him a piece of candy and send him on his way."

"Um..." Ai was there too. "There were so many people who saw him..."

Mai continued. "It's hard to know who was the one who actually caught him..."

"That's so lame..." Mii finished.

Miku blinked twice. "Huh."

Yellow Toad finally said it. "He actually showed up himself. Along with Mario's crew!"

* * *

Mario, Shido, Luigi and Kurumi were in the middle of a brainwashed crowd.

Shido was baffled. "No matter how insane you are, Kurumi... Facing a crowd head-on is..."

Kurumi was calm. "Well, it's a surefire way to meet Miku! Persuading her after we get through is up to you, though!"

"Even so..."

Everyone heard a voice on the loudspeaker. Miku herself. "How bold of you to come back to my CASTLE, you lot! You must be very confident, Shiori! No... I mean... _**Shido!**_ "

Mario's usual white happy glint in his eyes was replaced by a red glint of pure anger.

Time to get his friends back.

* * *

**A mix of comedy and ultra-seriousness? AND no references? Is this the same Sephira you read in the past? Probably. I dunno.**


	26. Standing A Chance

Things were looking dire, to say the least!

Rabbid Peach left herself behind to deal with a ton of Spirits, Mario's friends AND Tom Phan.

Donkey Kong couldn't help the bros out because he's fighting another swarm of brainwashed victims.

"Kurumi... at this rate..." Shido was weary. Mario and Luigi really didn't want to use force.

A civillian grabs onto Shido's arm. He struggled a bit then heard a clock sound.

The civilian fell to the floor. As did most of the others.

"That's...!" Mario recognised it back in his battle in Raizen High. "The Time-a Eating Castle!"

* * *

"Wh-huh?!" Miku stared at the CCTV footage, showing Kurumi's smug face. "Don't tell me she's a Spirit too?! She does not seem to be taken by my performance!" Her eyes watered as she remembered. Shido wasn't affected either. "You think... I'll let you get away with this...?! If I do.. It'll be like that time again..."

Miku sharply turned around and glared at the Spirits who weren't battling with Rabbid Peach.

"Restart the performance immediately!"

* * *

Shido and Kurumi made their way inside the show stage area, along with Mario and Luigi trailing behind. The audience were asleep due to Kurumi's Time Castle.

The quartet then noticed Miku on stage.

"Miku!" Shido called out.

Mario thought for a moment. If Miku was here, surely Rabbid Peach must still be persisting...

Mario then saw her on the ground, with a tattered and dirty appearance. She took quite the beating and was also laying unconscious. Not due to the Castle. Effective reminder that those who had 'contact' with Bowser back in the Mushroom Kingdom are not affected by Spirit Power.

Luigi pulled out a mushroom with a red cap and strange eyes. "Mario!"

Mario nodded and grabbed the mushroom. Shido eyed it curiously. "Huh? What's that?!"

Mario jumped to Rabbid Peach, ignoring the presence of Shido but still talked. "It's a Mushroom! I'll-a explain after we deal with this!"

Mario forced the Mushroom into Rabbid Peach's mouth and her wounds instantly healed. She slowly got up.

Miku sighed, with her bodyguards of Spirits and wacky Mario cast standing by her side.

And of course, Tom Phan.

Miku started. "Uuuugh. What's the deal with your voices? Can you please not damage the eardrums of my Spirits or me with that dirty sound? It really is unpleasant. You're so beyond worthless, it's causing harm. Will you please shut up, you walking pieces of trash?"

"Miku! Listen!" Shido demanded. "I have to go save Tohka, the girl that was just kidnapped. So-"

"Didn't I say... TO PLEASE SHUT UP?! Gabriel! MARCH!"

A floating keyboard appeared in front of Miku as she sent power waves.

The supposedly unconscious audience slowly rose up despite the Time Castle still being present.

"Mama-mia!" Mario and Luigi said at the exact same time.

Kurumi wasn't panicking at all. "What a surprise. I didn't think mere humans could move while in my shadow."

Miku had a grin. "What do you think? Isn't it amazing?! Gabriel's power isn't just to make people adore me." She then started pressing her keyboard. "Now, I'm not gonna tell them to just CAPTURE you, no, quite the contrary! Kill those three men in front of my eyes!"

The audience turned to the three men. Shido spat.

Kurumi just giggled more. "You think you have success after doing just that? Because you sure as hell are not beating me!"

Shadows were below the audience as familiar white long hands wrapped around them, restraining the audience.

"Kurumi!" Shido barked.

"I know. I know. I won't kill them."

Suddenly, the Yamai sparked. "RAPHAEL! EL RE'EM!"

"RESPONSE: RAPHAEL, EL NAHASH!"

The Yamai fired a gust of wind at the quartet. Shido didn't jump but the Mario Bros certainly did. They jumped up high and saw the Wario Bros. charging in from the air.

"Luigi! KNOCKBACK BROS!"

Mario curled into a ball similar to a blue hedgehog* and prepared himself.

Luigi nodded. "Understood! KNOCKBACK BROS!" Luigi pulled out his hammer and knocked Ball Mario into Wario and then Waluigi, sending them backwards as the two good bros landed back next to Shido.

Shido thankfully was saved from the knockback of the Yamai thanks to an embracing Kurumi.

"Sorry, Kurumi... nice catch..."

Kurumi laughed. "Don't worry about it."

Shido looked up. "Those four.."

Kaguya was angry. "You're back again so persistently! I will definitely not go easy on you!"

Mario shrugged. "I didn't-a plan so either!"

Wario pointed. "Silence, Mario! I will take effective action against you to make you DIE!"

Clones of Kurumi raised from the ground but were instantly stopped by Yoshino's icicle spears.

"I-I won't let you!" Yoshino persisted.

Luigi actually stood his ground and thought of a rational decision. "Mario! It's time to go to war! Kurumi! You take care of the Spirits! Rabbid Peach! Deal with Tom Phan and Rabbid me! I'll handle the Wario Bros! Mario! Get the Toads!"

Mario questioned Luigi's sanity to have rational thoughts during this time, but no time for questions!

All of Kurumi's clones aimed their pistols and fired at the Spirits while Rabbid Peach charged in with her Blaster.

"I will not let you do that." Yellow Toad was furious as he pulled out a Fire Flower to disperse of Rabbid Peach.

"I won't-a let you do that!"

Mario charged in full-throttal, past the icicles and ran up to Yellow Toad.

He then uppercutted Yellow Toad in the jaw, sending a Shoryuken** that launched him backwards. "Woo-HOO!" Mario yelled.

During the middle of his jump-cycle, Blue Toad jumped up. Mario panicked... but remained calm. He planned for this. He grabbed Blue Toad by the noggin and launched him in the midst of Kurumi's bullets!

He then finally landed on the ground on his feet.

Luigi sweatdropped while clashing Wario's elbow with his hammer. "That's a bit brutal..."

"Don't-a worry!" Mario winked and did a thumbs up. "We have-a plenty of 1-Up Mushrooms!"

Kaguya and Yuzuru kept up their wind. "How annoying it is! Don't you know that you cannot win against hurricane children?!"

Kurumi prepared her trump card. "Zafkiel." And then the clock appeared behind her again.

"Now, Shido, I'll leave everyone to the battle here and you to talk to Miku! Go ahead and convince her not to interfere with Tohka's rescue." She winked as she held her pistol. "Aleph!"

And then she fired at her own forehead.

She sped past all dangers. Tom Phan tried screaming at Kurumi.

She dodged that.

Rabbid Luigi fired his rocket.

She also dodged that.

She weaved her way through the Toads' Ground Pounds and passed a bomb from Waluigi.

Not even Zadkiel's ice breath could stop her. "What is WITH you guys?!"

Kurumi sneaked up to Miku's face until she was right in front of her. She then did a thing that Rabbid Peach usually does.

She stuck her tongue out. "Bleh!"

Miku took a second to process it. She was frightened but took a step back. She inhaled.

Shido looked up at Miku. "Kurumi! She's gonna use her voice!"

Shadowy hands restrained Miku as a Kurumi clone restrained her mouth.

Miku was slowly pulled into the shadows as her muffled screams didn't help anybody.

"Kurumi! That's-!" Shido didn't get to finish his sentence as he was being pulled in too.

Kurumi looked back at Shido. "I've kept MY promise, Shido. Now find a way how to make HER promise! EeeeHEEHEHEHEHEHEHE!"

And then Shido was swallowed to leave Kurumi and Mario's friends to deal with the situation.

* * *

Miku stomped her heel. "I have nothing to discuss with you! Just what exactly IS this place?! Something gets in the way every time I use my powers! And to top it all off, I'm stuck with someone as repulsive as you!"

Shido didn't get angry. He faced her head on. "I'm sorry for tricking you. But please stop involving other people! Please release everyone-"

"Be quiet! Please shut up! Don't talk! You think I'll just talk to you after you humiliated me so?!"

"Miku... you can stay a _tsundere_... But please listen. Do you remember Tohka? That purple-hair girl on stage with me? I'm sure you noticed, but she's a Spirit too. She was kidnapped by a DEM wizard in the uproar. I'm going to go save Tohka right now. So, please, help me save Tohka!"

"What?!" Miku turned.

"I can't say for certain, but even with Kurumi's help, I may not stand a chance to save Tohka... But maybe if you're there, it'll somehow help out!"

Miku gritted her teeth. "I refuse! Why would I do such a thing?!"

"Miku!" Shido was getting irritated.

"I'm tired of this! I do not want to listen to you any longer! Everything you say is a LIE! You have an ulterior motive! Humans are selfish beings! They can't hold anyone so dearly!"

Flashbacks of her memories rushed inside her mind as she turned so Shido wouldn't see her tears.

Shido persisted. "Why do you reject humans? Even you were once-"

A bright light came upon the two as the dark abyss had a tiny light.

Kurumi's voice echoed. "I apologise for interrupting your little chit-chat, but we're about to reach the time limit."

"Not yet-!" They were enveloped in a white light.

* * *

And they were back to normal. The view was less than pleasant.

A destroyed show stage, a ton of Kurumi clones pierced by icicles...

Wario, Waluigi, Blue Toad, Yellow Toad, and Rabbid Luigi were laying down, defeated.

Seems like the trio did some work off-screen.

Tom Phan was the only one left floating, and even still.

"Even still..." He spoke in sing-song. "Despite my revivaaaaaal, I was unable to defeat you..."

Mario still had an ounce of energy left in him. "It's-a time for the curtains."

Mario ran up to Tom Phan and uppercutted him.

Flashy effects took place around Tom Phan as he exploded into stars.

Well, that one-episode threat is gone.

Shido looked around. "What a mess..."

Yoshino turned to Miku. "Ah! Miku!"

The Yamai also turned on Yoshino's voice and they noticed Miku laying there. They all flew to Miku.

Shido slowly got up to face Kurumi and Mario.

"I'm-a glad... Tom Phan really was a tough one... But it-a can't get any worse... Ah hah." He nervously chuckled. Something tells him he's gonna jinx himself later down the line. Well, whatever.

Kurumi bent down. "Shido. On your feet. My time is not infinite. It's about time we all depart."

Luigi nodded. He sure as hell didn't want to be here anymore!

Shido disagreed, however. "Please wait, Kurumi! Just a little more-"

He then rolled out of the way from an incoming GIANT ICICLE as it thudded and the slam effect echoed ominously in the stage.

Yep. Yoshino's still the problem. "I-I won't forgive ANY enemies of Miku!"

Kurumi crept closer to Shido. "NOW do you see our dilemma?"

Clones of Kurumi also aimed their guns at Mario and Luigi.

"H-hold on!" Shido panicked. "What about the Rabbid-"

"Zafkiel. Aleph."

They vanished from the scene.

* * *

Shido exhaled. "Sorry, Kurumi... I tried to make her promise, but I only made her mad..."

Mario was also sweating. "Tom Phan was-a no cakewalk either... It was-a outnumbering us a ton!"

Luigi then added. "So, why did you leave Rabbid Peach behind?"

Kurumi pointed out. "Well, it's simple. If I brought everyone, then we might as well be witches in medieval times."

Mario shivered.

But Kurumi continued. "I didn't think I'd hear sorry's from any of you, especially Shido. I'm so happy. Now why don't you go pat my head to make me feel even more good?"

Shido gave a nervous smile and just did as she asked.

Kurumi continued while being headpatted. "On the bright side, Miku won't go into trouble or get in our way. And even more importantly, I've made her presence aware of mine."

"That's true." Shido said while still headpatting.

"But - " She casually embraced Shido, the latter going red in the face with Mario and Luigi protesting like mad. "- you were trying to get her to join us while you were in my shadow, weren't you? That implies that my help isn't enough for you?"

"H-hey, that's..."

Mario pointed. "Kurumi! You-a better stop, or your-a waifu levels will increase to-a maximum!"

Shido's and Mario's rejections were caught off by Kurumi literally licking near his ear and speaking with her lips touching his ear. "I'm just kidding. It was a good decision to try and get Miku to join us. We don't exactly know how powerful the enemy is. But oh boy, you're really bad at lying, you know?"

"G-ghh..." Shido was blushing like MAD.

Kurumi giggled as she ran backwards to regard social distancing. "Oh, right. I DO have some news to report!" She raised her skirt like a maid. "I have found Tohka's location."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Luigi clenched his heart. "Now we can go save her! Where is she?"

Kurumi just laughed. "Of course, in the most dangerous place of all. DEM Industries Building No. 1 Of Their Japan Breach."

"..." Mario stayed silent and then spoke. "In-a other words... that ominous skyscraper."

Dramatic lightning flash at the tallest skyscraper.

"Mama-mia..." Luigi held his hat and shivered.

* * *

Ah, there's the spiky white-hair man again. The main antagonist of this story riiight next to Bowser. His name? Isaac Westcott.

"It's an honor to meet you, Princess."

He was standing, alongside Ellen, in front of a helpless Tohka in a chair.

Isaac went on. "Or should I say, Tohka Yatogami? I am Isaac Westcott from DEM Industries."

Tohka didn't say anything, just staring at him with a look of disgust and hatred.

Isaac comically turned to Ellen. "I wonder why she doesn't like me."

Ellen just went along with it. "You should of thought more on how to approach her if you wanted her to like you."

Tohka finally let loose. "Are you the one behind this?! What do you want?!"

Isaac didn't flinch. "It's simple. I want your Spirit power to turn this world upside down."

"What...!?"

"But your presence in this world is far too stable. I wonder what it'll take to make you fall down into the insanity of despair?"

"Huuh..." Tohka couldn't believe Isaac was so upfront about his plans.

"What do you think, Ellen? Physical pain is probably the fastest way, don't you think? Electric shock, oxygen removal, or heck, I might remove her nails. That all sounds fun. Maybe remove her teeth too. Or maybe remove your dignity as a woman? Don't you have friends or lovers in this world? I wonder what would happen if we killed them right in front of your eyes."

Tohka got severe trauma from a certain scene. Shido getting pierced by a bullet. She instinctively started to sweat.

Isaac grinned. "Ellen?"

Ellen immediately responded. "The one closest to her is probably Shido Itsuka, as I mentioned earlier. Runner-ups are probably Mario and those... strange rabbit things. Even with this investigation, she reacts when their names are brought up."

"I see." Isaac nodded. "Then we shall wait for him before we continue."

"Wait-!" Tohka screamed. "What do you plan to do to them?!"

Tohka was instantly surrounded by Territory and was struggling to breathe.

Isaac walked away while Ellen stayed a while. "Please behave."

She let go of the Territory and walked away with Isaac.

"Shi-do..." Tohka closed her eyes in exhaustion. The lights in the room faded.

* * *

"Yep... It's-a that tall skyscraper." Mario awed as he, Shido, Luigi and Kurumi were on a higher bridge, staring at it.

"Indeed." Kurumi also looked up. "Unfortunately, I cannot determine exactly WHERE she is in there."

"Well... if she's in there, then that's more than enough..." Shido looked up.

"So." Kurumi turned to the three. "Let's review the plan again. Once we reach the building, I will summon my clones to attack the other buildings."

Shido continued. "And by doing that, we'll lower their attack units AND lower defensive units around Tohka."

"Yep! Yep!" Kurumi folded her arms, closed her eyes and smiled.

Buuuut then there was a SPATIAL QUAKE ALARM.

All the normal humans in the city were running for shelters.

Luigi was cowering. "Oh, now what?! There can't be a Spirit now of all times?!"

"Well." Kurumi was calm about this. "That's not exactly the case. That alarm was likely set off by DEM themselves. So that can only mean one thing."

Mario's senses went off as he DIVED to tackle Luigi out of the way. Kurumi did the same with Shido. She just had a smiling face, staring at Shido before she continued. "It means they can have no witnesses to their onslaught."

The places where Luigi and Shido once were was now giant craters.

The quartet looked up to who attacked them. A robotic army. They all recognised them.

"BANDERSNATCH?!"

All the Bandersnatch units aimed their hands to attack them. They fired lasers! Kurumi was quick on her feet to dodge all of them.

Mario, on the other hand, was carrying Luigi and just BARELY jumping over the lasers. "Mama-mia! They aren't-a fooling around anymore!"

Luigi was protesting while being carried. "They weren't fooling around from the start!"

Kurumi jumped higher than Mario as she had a plan already. "Come out and play, girls!"

Clones of Kurumi flew up into the air and started violently ripping some of the units apart. They were ripping off their limbs, their eyes, as well as various other essential parts.

They all turned with an insane smile.

Meanwhile, on ground level, the trio watched with awe.

Kurumi lowered her head. "This is no time to be impressed."

They looked up into the sky to find a few hundred units staring them down.

Kurumi sighed. "Let's change the plan a little. I need you to help me take some of these down."

Everyone turned their heads to Kurumi. Her gaze and her question was directed at...

Luigi.

Kurumi kept going. "Luigi and I will stall the dolls and the Wizards. And then Shido, Mario and I will waltz right on in!"

"You're insane!" Mario shouted.

"N-no..." Luigi shook his head. "Mario... I'll do it."

Everyone turned to Luigi.

"I... I will do it! If it's to save Tohka... if it'll stop Bowser's mad power... Then I'll fight for you.. bro...!"

"Luigi, I...-"

Kurumi tapped her foot as she summoned Zafkiel. "I'd advise you make your decision quickly, Mario."

Mario stayed silent.. And then he slowly nodded, but on the verge of tears.

"I trust you, Luigi."

Gunshot as Mario, Shido and Kurumi were taken away as Luigi stared up at the hundreds of units staring him down.

"Mario trusts me, so I can't back down... even though I seriously want to... But I won't back down! I won't give up...! H-here I go..!"

He went into a battle stance.

* * *

Mario was on the verge of puking.

Shido and Kurumi stared at him. "It's fine, Mario... My other selves are telling me your brother is trying his best and surviving."

Shido held his head. "We've no time... We have to get moving NOW. We can't mope around..."

Kurumi turned to walk off. "Yes, of course. The building should be right over-"

A laser pierced through her neck and her entire head fell off!

"Aagh.." If Mario didn't puke before... He definitely did. He turned around, of course. "EEEEEUGH...?!"

THANKFULLY, that Kurumi was just a clone as it disappeared into shadows. Shido turned to the culprit while Mario was puking.

A blue-hair girl with a ponytail. Shido's real sister!

"...Mana...?!" Shido uttered her name.

"Big brooooo!" Mana tackled Shido into a hug.

Kurumi appeared out of a shadow in the wall and giggled. "What a violent welcome, as expected of Mana."

Mana aimed her blaster at Kurumi.

Kurumi, however, tilted her head. "Do you really think that little thing is going to kill me?"

"How unpleasant." Mana's tone dropped cold. "Just a little more and I would have erased that creepy smile from your face permanently."

"What an amusing thing to say! Did someone who survived by chance lose her memory from pure fear?"

Shido spoke up. "WAIT A MINUTE, YOU TWO!"

Kurumi sighed and rolled her shoulders. "Well, this is perfect. I have an unnamed matter to settle with DEM, so I'll depart now. You two should be just fine with Mana."

Shido stepped forward. "Oi, Kurumi-!"

"Rest assured, my other selves will continue their diversion. Well then. Good day!" She leaned back into her shadow and disappeared.

Mana lowered her blaster. "I don't know what agreement you three had, but this is for the best."

Mario walked up to Mana. "We're literally the-a only ones left after we-a took MAJOR damages..."

Mana grinned. "Not quite!" She pulled out two earpieces and tossed one each to Shido and Mario. They put it in and heard a VERY familiar voice.

Kotori. "Shido. Mario. Are you online?"

"Kotori! You're not brainwashed?!" They said at the same time.

"Nah... I'm fine now. I would like to apologise for any mean things I said. Apparently I told you all to 'die'... but it goes without saying I didn't mean it."

"I know." Shido nodded.

* * *

"APFPFPFPFPFP!"

Someone spat out dirt as they got up on their feet.

A certain prince of the fearsome Koopa King had just been portalled by his most loyal minion.

Bowser Jr. was on the scene.

"Eeeugh... I got dirt on myself... Yuck!"

He shook himself clean, like a dog would. He looked around. Only having his Clown Car and his current destination was the top of a giant skyscraper.

Junior looked down, trembling. He didn't want to fall off on accident... but he saw the whole city brainwashed.

"What the heck happened..."

He jumped a bit after a thunderous stomp echoed behind him. Junior gulped and backed away from the edge only to meet with something pressing on his back.

He shivered. Junior turned around and was met with a giant spiky turtle monster with a flame aura around him.

Bowser.

Or should we call him Efreet at this point? Bowser was only there in physical appearance.

Junior's voice went hoarse and wavery. "Papa...?"

Efreet's orange eyes stared down at Bowser Jr. They were VERY different to Bowser's normal red eyes.

Junior jumped up and down in happiness. "Papa! Thank goodness you see me this time! I was so scared that you punted me off the streets last time... But I understand! You were very confused about this new world! And I-"

Bowser spoke. "...shut up. Get out of my way."

Junior slowly stopped jumping and had something caught in his eye.

...Tears?

"...papa?"

The monster continued. "I punted you off once on purpose... and I can do it again."

Bowser then punched his own son off the skyscraper as Junior fell to his doom.

Bowser then looked down the edge to see Junior falling. "You're a hinderence to my goals."

He then turned and walked away.

* * *

"No. I won't accept it." Kotori refused.

"We have no other option!" Shido insisted this time. "Tohka has been KIDNAPPED! You said it yourself! DEM is a dangerous organization trying to kill Spirits!"

"You don't have to tell me that! Excuse me for trying to save my brother from entering a lion's den! You never consider yourself in the lives that need to be saved!"

"And you're telling me to just leave Tohka?!"

"That can wait until after we make preperations-"

"THAT'LL TAKE TOO LONG! Kurumi's stalling the wizards for us NOW. We won't have another chance like this. We need to go NOW. Kotori! LISTEN! I PROMISE TO BRING TOHKA BACK!"

"Oh, fine!" Kotori slammed her hands onto the chair. "It's not like you'll listen anyway!"

"...I suppose you know me too well."

"...I haven't been your little sister all this time for nothing. Alright. Listen up. That building will probably jam our signal. All we can do in Fraxinus is provide support from outside."

"Yeah, that's more than enough. I'll have Mario and I enter the building. It'll be easy."

Mario turned his head. "Oi, don't-a set off flags..."

Kotori chuckled. "Honestly, the amount of stuff that we little sisters have to put up with."

Mana turned, also laughing. "Then again, I wouldn't accept a big brother who'd turn tail at a time like this."

They started to walk towards the building.

Kotori continued the plan. "I won't allow you to do a half-assed job. The plan will only be a success if Tohka is brought back safe and you and Mana are still alive. Mario is a bonus."

Mario rolled his eyes. "I didn't get-a Isekai'd to this world to get-a bullied."

* * *

Someone noticed Bowser Jr. laying on the ground. The figure rushed up to the young prince and checked his pulse.

He was still breathing.

"Thank hell he's still alive..." The figure sighed. The figure in question was a blue-robed wizard. Kamek again.

He pulled out his wand to heal the young prince. "Even when I take him to a safe skyscraper... He's not safe. I think it's time to bring him to a whole 'nother location."

Kamek really focused his magic to open up a portal and set Bowser Jr. inside, closing the portal.

"Please, be safe in there... Oh, that's..." Kamek turned and noticed someone VERY familiar.

A plumber in a red hat.

* * *

The trio finally arrived at the entrance, Mana using Territory to block falling debris from the battle of Bandersnatch, Kurumi and Luigi.

Mario couldn't see Luigi, but he knew he was trying his damn hardest.

"We're almost there, you two. Just gotta go in there..."

"Yeah..." Shido looked up. "But with such a large location, I can't help but feel a bit nervous."

Mana activated another Territory.

"Eh?" Mario looked around. "Mana?"

Lasers were fired at the trio with large explosions following it.

Mario and Shido were knocked back. The former jumped onto his feet to see a weapon.

"That's-a the same vehicle Origami was-a piloting!"

The unknown figure spoke. "You sure know a lot. But unfortunately, this is the more powerful version."

That brown-hair woman again. Jessica. Told you she was important!

She fired missiles at Mana, which Mana dashed away from. Mana then dived back in to clash with Jessica as they went up into the air.

"MANA!" Shido yelled.

"SHIDO!" Mario yelled back. "We have-a no time!"

Shido got up on his feet and ran for the entrance.

Mario, after stalling and hesitating by looking up at the battle, ran after Shido.

But then Mario was knocked back by yet another figure. Shido didn't notice and ran straight into the facility.

"Ghhh...!" Mario scratched his behind in pain and looked at the figure who dared stop him. And then his eyes shrunk in horror.

A blue-robed magician that was flying in a broom.

"...Kamek...?"

The Magikoopa laughed. "Kehehehehe! I didn't expect you of all people to be here, Mario!"

He clenched his fist.

But Kamek was furious. "But what I did expect was the beatdown you gave to Lord Junior!"

...Then he eased his fist. "Huh? What are you-a talking about?"

"Denying it. Like a true monster you are, Mario."

"Get out of my-a way! I need to help Shido right-a now, Kamek!"

Kamek laughed again. "Keheheh! Or else what? Lord Bowser's orders were still to destroy you. Even if I question his current rules, I still respect Lord Bowser."

He threatened with his wand.

"Even if we're all Isekai'd to this world, I'll blast you back to the Mushroom Kingdom!"

Mario smirked. "I know. You don't need to tell-a me that. Well, if it's a battle you-a want..."

He entered his true battle stance.

_**"Let's-a-go!"** _

* * *

**These chapters are getting longer and longer each time. Maybe the next one will be very short because it'll be nearly an entire Mario-focused chapter.**

***Sonic**

****Street Fighter**


	27. Brawl-out War

Mario walked to the middle of the city.

Kamek also walked to the middle of the city.

Then Wario and Waluigi showed up. They grinned and laughed. Mario averted his eyes.

Then some DEM wizards were in the middle.

REPRESENTING TEAM MARIO...

Mario clenched his fist.

REPRESENTING TEAM MIKU...

Wario laughed.

REPRESENTING THE DEM...

They aimed their guns

REPRESENTING... KAMEK?

Kamek got on his broom.

Mario stepped back from the middle and went into hiding. "A four-way team fight? Oh boy."

"Mario." A monotone girl voice said.

Mario practically yelped as he turned his head to see Origami.

He exhaled. "What do you want-a now of all times?!"

"I'm on your side."

"Wh-?! I don't-a believe it..."

Origami got up. "Fine. But we have to stop them. For Shido's sake."

Mario shrugged. "Okay, okay." He got up on his feet. "But something tells me I'm-a gonna hate the word 'origami' when I get-a home."*

He turned to the rest. "Okie dokie then, let's-a-hope I can bring them back."

He then ran to the middle...

and all four teams clashed!

They jumped up high in the air as Mario grabbed a DEM wizard's gun and fired a shot at Wario. Waluigi charged in but a Bandersnatch unit hit Waluigi.

Luigi hammered the Bandersnatch and got hit by Blue Toad, which sent him flying, but Mario caught Luigi.

"Thanks bro! WAAH! Kamek is here too?!"

Mario and Luigi got hit by a spell blast as they landed to the ground. Mario unfortunately had to leave Luigi behind as he entered a running state. He jumped up to avoid an icicle wave from Yoshino and landed on it with his feet. He pulled out his hammer and simultaneously hit Yellow Toad and Yuzuru. He then twirled into the air, Matrix-style, to punch a falling Rabbid Luigi into the distance.

In the distance, Donkey Kong grabbed Rabbid Peach and threw her up, aiming her blaster at Jessica who was interfering with Mana.

Jessica landed near Mario who hammered her in the face. "That'll-a teach you!"

Then Kaguya jumped at Mario. "Woah! Mama-mia!"

A Bandersnatch unit cut off Kaguya's path, then almost slashed at Mario when Kamek interrupted with a spell blast.

The Bandersnatch blocked it and almost fired it's shots when time paused.

Kurumi appeared in the middle and shot her pistols at both the Bandersnatch and Kamek!

Mario pulled out his hammer, jumped in the air, and knocked Kamek down from the air with a hammer strike!

Luigi finally caught up, using his hammer to knock Kamek away like a damn baseball.

They both cheered at the same time. "Woohoo! Super Mario Bros!"

Their celebration was cut short when Jessica rose once more, hitting Mario away with a gun blast.

He landed up high on a roof, causing him to look up and see a Power-up.

"Huh... I guess-a Blue Toad and-a Yellow Toad dropped this."

He jumped onto the higher roof to see it was a Tanooki Suit.

"Aaah, I see!"

He slowly gripped it in his hand. "Now we're-a playing with power!"**

And then he absorbed it.

* * *

Luigi pulled out his hammer and clashed with Jessica, with Mana kicking Jessica on the side.

Wario kicked Jessica, causing the force to blow Mana and Jessica away while Luigi barely dived out of the way from a sharp icicle wave.

Luigi turned to Yoshino and then she got blasted with a gun by Kurumi.

Donkey Kong jumped into the action and pounded the ground, senting Blue Toad and Kaguya up in the air.

Mario flew in with his new Tanooki Suit and tail whipped Kaguya. Now it was combo time!

He whipped, punched, kicked, hammered, whipped up, punched, dunked and then punched away!

"Woohoo!" Mario cheered.

Then a Bandersnatch unit came up and slammed Mario onto the ground within a very long street.

"WAAAH!" Mario kept running!

He jumped over Blue Toad, Ground Pounded to avoid Yellow Toad, dodged an incoming flung Donkey Kong and dived to avoid Kaguya. He grabbed Yuzuru and chucked her back to Kurumi, which responded with a gun blast. He landed and avoided a blast from Jessica which hit Kamek, and Kamek slowed down and almost crashed into Mario. He then got hit by a tumbling Rabbid Luigi, which Rabbid Peach chased after. Mario was now vulnerable in the air, and then got hit by a flung Luigi. Origami arrived to blast a persistent Yellow Toad away and then Rabbid Luigi got up on his feet and charged up his Bworb which hit Mario far away!

All of that within a few seconds!

* * *

Rabbid Peach escaped from the action... Or not. She saw Kaguya AND Yuzuru giving chase!

They combined their Spirit Powers. "RAPHAEL!"

A huge tornado was giving chase to her. Rabbid Peach ran as fast as she could and then saw an incoming building dead ahead.

She smirked. Time to put her Kingdom Battle skills to the test!

She jumped up, put her feet on the building, then jumped OVER the giant Kaguya-Yuzuru tornado.

Mid-jump, she took a selfie. She wasn't fooling around this time.

She landed and ran in the opposite direction, Kaguya and Yuzuru close by.

Donkey Kong slowed down to catch up to Rabbid Peach. He grabbed her and tossed her out of harms way. Now the twins were chasing Donkey Kong.

He rolled into a ball, jumped up from the momentum and pounded his fists onto the ground, sending the twins into the air.

He punched Yuzuru while Rabbid Peach pulled out her blaster to hit Kaguya in mid-air.

She finally learned from Mario and used Hero Sight.***

* * *

Luigi was running away in fear with Yoshino right behind him.

He jumped onto a street stall, bounced from that stall to a fountain top, then jumped, using a flutter kick to gain extra height to BARELY dodge Yoshino's ice blast!

"Yay-haaay!"

Then he saw Yoshino charging an even more powerful ice blast. "Oh no!"

Then Mario swooped in, still having his Tanooki Suit on, gripped Luigi and flew up, dodging a devastating blast.

"Thanks, Mario!"

"No-a problem, bro! Let's-a hope Shido ends this soon!"

Mario then noticed that the threat of all the Spirits was suddenly gone and crowding the tower that Shido went into.

"Alrighty, Luigi... Can I-a trust you to get-a Kamek and the Bandersnatch?"

"I can, but-"

Mario heard that first part and dropped Luigi onto the ground as he soared towards the tower.

He noticed the Spirits slowly flying away as he was already on a crash course towards the tower.

"Mama-mia!"

He gripped his feet onto the wall as he clinged onto the top of the window.

And then he saw two very familiar figures. "It's-a Shido!... And-a you..." He shot an angry glare at Miku.

"MARIO?!" Shido was baffled. "What's going on out there?! What are you wearing?!"

Mario looked at his Tanooki Tail. "Well, to be-a fair, Shido... You've got a princess, a loli, a little sister, twins, and a lesbian! Who's to-a say furries aren't on the list?"

"..."

The two looked at Mario.

Shido just pointed. "Get back to fighting, Mario."

"R-right."

Mario swooped away.

He landed on the streets, noticing most of the people knocked out from the battle.

In fact, all his enemies were knocked out!.. except for one.

Jessica. And she was screaming nonsense. "MAAAAANAAAAA! HEEEEY MAAAANAAAA!"

Mario clenched his fist. "Not-a this time."

He jumped up with his Tanooki Tail.

But then Mario got sliced as he tumbled down into the ground and lost his suit. "Doh!"

He then looked up to see a familiar ash-blonde female figure.

"Ellen! It's-a you!"

Ellen looked down at Mario. "Oh. I thought it was a 2v1 with Mana. I can take you on, Mario."

"Oooh, hahaha!" Mario rubbed his gloves together, lowering his eyerbrows with a smirk. "I've-a been looking for a rematch with-a you!"

Then Ellen charged at Mario.

Mario put away his hammer and all his items.

Ellen smirked while charging in. "You're awfully brave."

"I'm-a gonna do what's-a called a 'well deserved attack'!"

He waited until Ellen charged right at the right moment, and did do a well-deserved attack.

Mario punched Ellen square in the face which knocked her back.

Ellen struggled to get up.

"Now! Mana!" Mario screamed.

Mana shot a bullet at Jessica, delivering a fatal blow.

Ellen realised this and was distracted.

Mario grabbed one of the knives from an unconscious DEM wizard and sliced Ellen right down the stomach vertically.

Ellen was bleeding out before she even realised. "Someone as old as you...?! Gh... I need to get back..." Ellen flew away.

The plumber put his knife away with a pissed-off look. "I'm-a getting tired of this world. I'm-a gonna go help Shido now." He angrily walked towards the tower.

* * *

Eventually, finally, he reached the top.

Shido and Miku looked down. Shido was the first to be baffled. "Mario! It's you! I told you, what happened outside?!"

"Big fight outside... We-a gotta get this over with..." Mario huffed, getting his breath back.

"Gee." Miku put her hands on her hips. "Lowly scum like you should be battling outside for me. I'm shocked Gabriel had no effect."

Mario ignored Miku's ramblings and slowly opened the door.

There was a dark room, nothing about it at all.

Except for a chair.

"Tohka!" Mario and Shido ran forward, but a male voice stopped them.

"I've been waiting for you all!" And there, the ash-blonde male figure in a black business suit emerged. Isaac himself. "I take it you two are friends of the Princess?"

Shido gripped Sandalphon, and Mario noticed. "Aaah..."

"I don't think we've been introduced." Isaac shrugged.

Mario had a smug look. "Yeah, I've-a been wondering! For the main antagonist like-a you, I don't know anything about-a you! Not even your name!"

"You may call me Isaac Westcott from DEM Industries."

"Aaah, there we go! Isn't that-a easy?"

"I knew Diva and the schoolboy would make it, but hoooh?" Isaac looked at Mario. "The main bait is here. How interesting."

He started laughing.

Mario stepped forward. "You better not harm Tohka."

"Oooh, finally getting rid of your accent? That is character development. Don't worry. I'm not harming Tohka. In fact, I'll even give you two a reunion."

The wires that were latched onto Tohka retracted.

"TOHKA!" Shido yelled.

Tohka slowly got to her senses. "Shido... SHIDO?!" She got up from her chair to run to Shido, and vice versa. Unfortunately, a glass wall came up in front of them to separate them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting..."

Tohka sank down in pure happiness that they finally arrived.

Mario turned to Isaac while those two reunited. "Release-a her."

"Oh, I'm not gonna harm her. All you have to do is break the glass."

Mario pulled out his hammer and went to lean for the glass, but Isaac continued.

"...but is that what you want? I hear you watch each other's backs. You've failed that time."

Mario heard a gurgling sound from Shido. He slowly turned to him in horror...

And there was a light sword piercing through his stomach from behind, completely leaving a hole.

Mario and Miku's jaws hung open. The plumber turned his attention to who did it. And of course...

"Ellen..."

Ellen released her sword as Shido plummeted lifelessly to the ground.

"Shido..." But the one who was most heartbroken was Tohka.

Isaac held a demented smile. "Go on. Get to him. Use any means necessary."

Tohka immediately summoned Sandalphon, slashing the glass in fury, blocking out all sounds. "Shido! Shido! Shido! SHIDO! SHIDOOOO!"

But Shido didn't respond.

Isaac finished. "...but nothing works."

"You..." Mario couldn't believe the sheer villainy of this guy. "You...!"

"Shido! Shido! Noo..."

Her rage got the best of her... And then she finally snapped.

Tohka bursted out in a cloud of darkness.

_**"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"** _

* * *

**To be continued.**

***Paper Mario: The Origami King**

****Nintendo Power**

*****Mario & Rabbids: Kingdom Battle**


	28. The Demon King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inversion time, let's go.

_Death and despair_

_Whenever we see fit_

_Our saviour has come at last!_

_To grace us with her darkness divine_

_To bring justice to this sin_

Mario covered his eyes. It somehow got even DARKER than before.

_Extinction meets your fate_

_All the same_

_Run and hide all you might_

_Judgement still lives_

Isaac's laughing didn't really help Mario.

_And the wrath will be brought down_

_By our Inverse lord!_

A blue flame engulfed Shido to revive him. Right. Efreet was still lurking. He opened his eyes to see pure darkness.

"What in the world...?" He got up to see Mario standing there, fists clenched, not moving an inch.

And then he turned to the main problem.

There was Tohka, with a completely different outfit change. Darker than her normal dark purple... And soulless darker eyes.

Mario turned his attention to Tohka's Sandalphon... And it was darker and glowing a menacing crimson.

"Is that-a even Tohka at this point...?! That's... a terrifying gaze..."

And so, Tohka spoke.

"What is this place?"

Everyone flinched. Then Tohka pointed Sandalphon at Miku. "You. Answer."

"E-eh? W-well... Isn't this the Japan branch of DEM Industries...?"

"I've never heard of it. Besides, why am I here?"

Mario spoke up. "You were-a taken by this Wizard." He pointed his thumb at Ellen. Apparently he knows a lot despite being unconscious.

And then, the main antagonist spoke up. Isaac. "Excellent. I've never seen such an amazing inversion."

Everyone, including Tohka, turned their eyes to Isaac.

He continued. "Look, Ellen. Our dearest wish is right in front of us. Now, it's time to work. Finally, a worthy opponent*. It's time for you to take the head of the Demon King and build our glorious path!"

"Yes, yes." Ellen nodded. "I understand."

She gripped her sword and flew right at Tohka.

Her slicing was nothing compared to Tohka's shield, as she just stood there. Ellen tried to swing again, but the shield wasn't even scratched.

She flew up again.

"Ellen!" Mario was worried for once. "This is a REALLY bad idea!"

Ellen fired a laser beam despite Mario's warning and blew a hole in the roof. The yellow was so dazzling and tall, it could send the moon running.**

...

Everything went silent.

Surely that got her.

And the-

"I see."

...she spoke up. "I suppose you're not all talk."

She raised Sandalphon.

"I won't let you!" Ellen yelled as she charged in. She swung her light sword only to be countered by Tohka's HAND.

"...Nahemoth." Tohka chanted.

Ellen realised this and flew back down, but not before Tohka swung her sword to send a huge beam towards Ellen. The impact of the blast caused the whole building to erupt in purple.

Mario and Shido were shielding their eyes while Miku stood up and used her spirit voice to drive the dust away.

"T-thanks Miku." Shido panted.

"Y-you're welcome..." She admitted... right back into tsundere mode. "But it wasn't for you two! I was just protecting myself!"

They all then looked up at Tohka. Mario winced. "That's not-a Tohka..."

A pile of rubble vibrated then was blasted away by Ellen's Territory, shielding Isaac.

"Thanks, Ellen." Isaac dusted himself off.

"No problem. We can't have you dying right now."

"So, what do you think of Princess?"

"She's way above her previous strength. I would even say she's triple A rank levels of threat."

"Oooh! Interesting! So, do you think you can win?"

"Of course. Nothing that breathes on this earth can beat me... if I'm at my best that is." Ellen's bloody wound across her stomach was showing. "I was distracted earlier from defending and then I got injured."

Mario swallowed his nervous saliva.

Ellen continued. "I'm still working on my pain tolerance. I'm at a disadvantage against that Spirit."

Isaac grinned. "I see. Then let us retreat for now. We still have plenty of time."

"Is that okay?"

"Yes. I'm used to waiting. It's good enough that we drew out Princess' inversion. Besides, we even ran into _him_." He looked at Mario and then spoke again. "I'm sure we'll meet again!... if you survive. Izayoi Miku. 'Super' Mario... Takamiy-No... _Itsuka_ Shido."

Shido stepped forward. "Do you know who I am?!"

"Oh, no. I haven't the foggiest idea. Not about SHIDO ITSUKA anyway." A green orbit... orbited them and then they were gone."

"HEY!" Shido yelled. Unfortunately, that yelling came with...

"Next up, you three dolts."

Tohka looked down on Miku, Shido and Mario. She floated down to ground level.

Miku had enough. "Okay! That's it! I thought you all were friends? And now she's super strong and didn't NEED our help to save her? What's going on?"

Shido gulped. "I don't know."

"Besides, didn't you get stabbed in the chest? How are you still alive?!"

"It's complicated, to say the least..."

Mario looked at Tohka to see she just swung her sword at them, causing another purple wave ."LOOK OUT!"

Kaboom!

...Luckily, they were SHIELDED, by the very SWORD that Shido used to save the Yamai. Sandalphon.

Tohka looked at it. "It is Sandalphon. Why do you have that angel?"

Now it's time for step two. Intense recollecting. Shido yelled. "Tohka! What happened to you?! Don't you remember me? Or Mario?!"

"Tohka?" She glared. "Do you refer to me?"

He gasped. Just when he was about to make a comeback, Kotori finally responded. "Shido! Are you in there?!"

"Kotori!"

"Thanks to the building being gone, the jammed communication is no longer an issue. BUT WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED?!"

"I don't know! Mario flew in before we went in, I got stabbed, and now everything is dark! Is it because of the reverse flow of energy? Can she even be sealed?!"

"Regardless! It's impossible to seal her at THIS state. They're all negative."

"THEN WHAT SHOULD I DO?!"

"Make Tohka remember who you are again. If that's even humanly possible, then her happiness levels should go back to normal."

Shido sweats and started to go forward. "Come on, Tohka. Let's go home. If you say sorry right now, I'll make your favorite foods for breakfast, lunch AND dinner!"

"What are you saying?" She raised her sword.

Shido had just about enough and charged in. Tohka easily swept him back with a simple blast.

Mario charged in and attempted to do a classic stomp on Tohka. Of course, a shield was blocking her, so Mario jumped down and attempted to swing his hammer. Tohka countered it with her sword and launched Mario back with a swipe.

"You two are so annoying." Miku folded her arms while the duo were on the ground, groaning. Miku sighed. "I'll take care of this myself. Gabriel!"

Mini pipes surrounded Tohka. Miku glared at them. "I want you to do your thing while I restrain her. You only got one chance."

Shido nodded. A pipe emerged in front of Miku as she prepared herself.

And then she sang.

"HAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Purple waves were restraining Tohka. She had an unamused look. "How pitiful."

...And then she broke through the pipes. Mario gasped. Miku tried to sing again... but no voice squeaked out. She was too in fear. Regardless, she did the impossible-Hide behind Shido while Tohka prepared a massive attack.

Mario covered his eyes. "There's-a no way! We're doomed!"

And then the blast hit. Mario was sent FLYING into the atmosphere.

* * *

...Yoshino blinked. "Huh? What happened?"

She was currently piloting Zadkiel who spoke. "Oh? Yoshino, do you know what's going on?"

"You don't know either?"

"Straaaange. I feel as if my power is being sucked away."

They flew across the city, only to be confronted by some DEM wizards.

"Stop them!"

A blast of wind sent them away.

Of course, the Yamai. One of them spoke up.

"Nyah hah! That was nothing! THIS is what they mean by 'blown away'!"

"Question: Is this a serious matter? Yoshino? Yoshinon?"

"Kaguya! Yuzuru!"

Kaguya looked at Yuzuru. "But where in the world are we?"

Then, at the speed of sound, Origami rushed in because of her vengenance for Spirits. Kaguya cut in with a wind swipe. Origami tumbled in mid-air and landed in Yuzuru's arms.

"Master Origami, what is this?"

"Shido..."

* * *

"...Eh?"

Wario woke up, looking around a smoking battlefield. "Oi! Waluigi! Wake up!"

"Nyeeeergh..." Waluigi groggily responded. "Where are we?"

Then Blue Toad and Yellow Toad walked in, accompanied by Rabbid Luigi.

"You two don't remember either?"

"Nope."

"Ah." Yellow Toad sighed. "At least we don't have to worry about that. Now we can reunite with..."

They paused... and spoke at the exact same time.

"Mario."

* * *

"WAAAAAAAAAH!" Mario flailed his arms, rolling in midair. This kind of drop would be brutal.

"I'm gonna die! I AM GOING TO DIE! LUIGI! HELP-!"

During his flailing arms, he caught something! The little something staggered a bit, but still managed to be sturdy.

Mario closed his eyes during his fall... But opened it up once he realised he was grabbing something.

He looked at the something. He was grabbing a hand. But not a hand he recognised.

Wait, no, he recognised it. A white glove hand...

He looked further...

A white glove hand...

A pink dress...

Blonde hair...

Blue eyes...

And a crown on her head.

"P...PRINCESS?!" Mario couldn't believe it!

This was none other.. than _**Princess Peach.**_

"Shhh. It's fine, Mario. I'm saving you this time.

She hovered over the broken skyscraper which Mario landed on.

Shido turned. "Oh, Mario. You're still alive." An icicle shield was surrounding Shido.

"Yeeeeah!" Mario cheered as he held out his hand for Peach to take as she landed on the ground.

Miku gasped internally. "Ohmigosh! She's so adorable! Who is-"

"Mario..." Tohka groaned... "Do I... know that name?"

Mario tried a different tactic. He pulled out his Bwanzai Bill that he hadn't used in a long while.

He aimed it at Tohka while grinning. "It's-a-me, Mario."

Tohka flew up. "There's MORE of you. I suppose I should wipe you all out. This is farewell."

She then swiped another devastating sword swipe.

Mario grinned. "This will be easy."

He dodged out of the way and so did everyone else.

"Phew! We made it!"

...Then Mario looked at the back. The building was cut clean open... And a giant slice was through the entire city. "Holy!"

He turned to the gap. Shido was gone.

"Hahaha... Yes... YES!" Tohka celebrated. "Finally, that wretched human is gone!"

"Gh..." Mario covered his sweaty forehead. "Were we too late?"

And then a perky young voice spoke up. "Nyah hah... If you were thinking you could stand against the hurricane children any longer, you're wrong!"

It was Kaguya. Right behind her was Yuzuru, who were both lifting Shido high up in the air with their wind magic. "Question: What happened, Tohka?"

Peach's mouth gaped, but Mario reassured her with a quick "i can explain later" gist.

Mario gave a thumbs up. "Thanks-a for saving him! But now..."

Shido looked down as he was above Tohka. "Yeah... Her... Don't worry. I have a plan."

And he just swooped down.

"Ah.. Wait... This feels familiar..."

Back then.

He was falling down from the sky on their first date.

Tohka's eyes widened. She remembered too.

And then Shido did a sealing kiss.

Everyone cheered! They threw their arms into the air... except Peach, because she has no idea what's going on.

Shido and Tohka landed on the rooftop. Mario held Peach's hand and jumped up to the roof.

"Hah hah!" He laughed. Everyone was on the roof, watching the sunset.

"Right!" Miku clapped her hands together. "If you would like to come with me..." She pointed at Shido.

"W-who? Me?"

"Yes! Come on!" She grabbed Shido's arm and tugged him along, Tohka giving chase.

That just left Mario and Peach, watching the sunset as they held hands together.

"Well, Princess... Welcome to another world."

"Mario... I'm so glad you're safe."

"You think you're-a glad? I'm relieved! Hah hah!" He chuckled.

"Now, let me tell you about what's-a new..."

And so, Peach prepared herself to get caught up in the plot.

* * *

Kurumi was on the ground level of the ruined city. "Oh, that's no good. That industry didn't house that certain person. Oh where oh where could the captive Spirit be?" She danced along into the darkness.

She's on her on quest.

* * *

**Short, lacking in detail, but I just wanted to get this done.**

***Kung Fu Panda**

****Snapcube (the infamous pissing scene)**


	29. Battle at the Ruined Industry

The duo of Mario and Peach looked over the horizon, the sunset bleaching orange across the entire city.

"You know... Peach..." Mario awkwardly chuckled. "How come you-a rejected me on the moon-a last time?"

"..." Peach glanced to the side.

"Oh... I'm-a sorry if you don't wanna talk about-a it..."

"I was stressed. Shoving flowers in my face and an exploding moon we were standing on..."

"Aaah. I see." Mario nodded. "Thank-a you for coming back to me regardless."

"You're welcome, Mario. By the way, is anyone else here? I know we got pulled in alongside Luigi, Rabbid me and Yoshi..."

"They're there! Except for Yoshi..." Mario pointed.

Peach looked down to the edge of the skyscraper and saw the battlefield. "Yes, I saw the chaos before but...-"

She noticed the peculiar heroes. And the newcomers eg the Toads, Donkey Kong and the extra Rabbid. And most importantly-

"Why are the Wario Bros. here?"

"Ahahaha... Long story."

They both giggled again.

Mario smiled. "Shall we-a head down and join them?"

"Sounds good. Please lead the way."

"With-a pleasure!"

Mario and Peach made their way to the staircase. Each step causing a massive thud.

Mario looked at his feet, and then to Peach.

Peach sighed. "Mario, you need to lose weight."

"Hey! I'm-a not tubby! That's not-a even me!"

Mario stopped moving and the thudding kept continuing.

"..."

They both looked at each other, fear in their eyes.

"Princess Peach... GET-A DOWN."

Mario shoved Peach to cover as a giant fireball landed right where she was.

"Ah hah!" Mario clicked his fingers. "I knew I had an instinct! As for this-a intruder..."

The intruder made his presence clear, looming on a higher level of the skyscraper. Gleaming horns, flaming red hair, burning eyes of hatred, a massive build of a body, and large gnashing teeth.

The user's claws were gripping on a very familiar flaming axe.

"MARIO!" The user called. Of course, it wasn't just any ol' Flame Spirit. It was-

"Bowser."

\- as Mario said.

Mario jumped to a wider skyscraper as Bowser soon followed, punching his fist down as he loomed in front of Mario. Yep, he definitely got a bit bigger when Efreet possessed him.

Then Bowser spoke again.

"Gah! Get out of my way! You secured the chaos, now you may rest! I need to continue on!"

"No-a way. You're-a going down this time."

"Didn't you hear me last time? Oooh, that is IT! I am SO going to knock you out and spin you all over! This time, for sure!"

He stomped his foot and roared. "GWAAAARGH!"

Princess Peach was sent flying to another skyscraper as a box of fire contained her.

"GUERAHAHAHAHA!" He grinned evilly as he laughed. "GWAAARGH! CAMAEL!"

The axe he held glowed. Bowser spoke. "You see, Mario, I'm not unlike any other boss fight. I actually learn from my mistakes! NOW DIE!"

Bowser swung his axe at Mario, which he ducked. "Woah! Mama-mia! Now it's my tur-"

Bowser swung down, causing Mario to yelp and dive backwards. "NOW it's-"

Then Bowser swung to the side, causing him to jump. "HEY!"

Bowser jumped and lunged his axe, knocking Mario back a bit.

Then he finished his combo by jumping up and slamming the axe down. The axe got stuck!

"Haha! Now I can lift it!" Mario got up and chased after the axe.

"Nuh uh uh! I'm sticking right by my axe! I've LEARNED!"

His mouth caught on fire as he spat fireballs at Mario.

"WAAAH!" He rolled to the side, jumping mid-roll and striking a pose. He then ran up to Bowser.

Bowser jumped back to avoid Mario and then jumped at him. That was his crucial mistake.

Mario quickly flipped Camael to the other side, and then Bowser landed, right on the sharp edge.

"GWAAARGH!" He roared in pain as he jumped up and ran around.

Mario punched Bowser in the jaw as he flipped on his back.

He then jump, twirled, and did a Ground Pound on him!

"BWARGH!" Bowser spat out a fireball in retort of having his stomach literally being stomped on. "GrrrrrrAGH!" He attempted to grab Mario while he was on Bowser, but Mario jumped back. Bowser literally got up and instantly fired a fireball.

"WAH!" Mario flipped to the side, the fireball barely grazing his cheek.

"That's it! No more axe! MEGIDDO!" Bowser summoned. The axe whirred and turned into a cannon.

"Oh no."

Instead of firing one huge laser and being done, Bowser went the extra mile of firing GIANT fireballs at him.

Mario had a hard time, even jumping over one, looking behind him occasionally and seeing the massive damage. Time to end this quick.

Bowser jumped up and fired his fireballs down this time. Mario had nowhere to go and eventually got hit. "DOH!"

"Time to finish you off." Bowser smirked and went back to axe form. He slammed it down on Mario...

But this was planned.

Mario swerved to the side, causing the axe to get stuck. "Alright, defending myself!"

Bowser used Efreet on his own body, using a Spin Move he learned from his galaxy days to try to trip Mario up. Mario ducked under the arm.

"Woah, mama-mia... Didn't expect this to get used again."

Bowser then jumped up a LITTLE bit to try and squish Mario. "HurAGH!"

Mario moved while Bowser jumped to grab the axe.

Bowser got desperate to hit Mario so he went with another Ground Pound. "SNARL!"

Then Bowser realised his mistake.

"NOOOORGH!"

His butt landed straight on the axe, causing him to wince in pain. He ran around, clenching his behind. Mario flipped him over again.

Then he jumped up and Ground Pounded his stomach again! Bowser roared as Mario got off.

"C'mere!" Bowser then curled and turned into a Whirling Fortress, his shell being the only thing present.

The Shell spinned towards Mario.

"Woah!" Mario flailed his arms and jumped over it.

Bowser got out of his shell and looked at Camael. He grinned.

He gripped Camael with both hands and started to spin in a circle.

More and more and more and more and more...

Now he was just a blurry circle. The circle started to MOVE TOWARDS MARIO.

"OH NO!" He attempted to jump over it.

Time slowed down, Matrix-style, to show that Mario had actually JUMPED ON CAMAEL and caused Bowser to disalign his spin and accidentally throw it to the ground.

Bowser was dizzy after that, so Mario took his only chance...

Then he looked at Camael.

"He's-a not gonna jump again..."

Mario grabbed Camael with his two hands. "HERE GOES!"

Bowser snapped out of his stun, to see that Mario was charging straight at him.

"Huh?! That's!"

Mario sliced Bowser with Camael itself, delivering the finishing blow.

"GWAAAAAAARGH!"

Bowser let out a horrifying roar as he fell to the ground on his stomach as Camael disappeared in a fiery 'poof'.

"Grrrhhhrgh..."

Bowser got up, looking at Mario.

The flames captivating Peach disappeared as she went to join by Mario.

Bowser clenched his fist. "WHY YOU...! Yes, I can see why you're my arch-nemesis now. Unfortunately, your time is up. I'm not going to attack you now, but let it be known, I will have the last laugh!"

"Good, now run along before-"

"I LIED!" Bowser roared, punching Mario straight off the tower.

"MAAAAARIOOOOOO!" Peach yelled as Bowser disappeared into flames and didn't capture Peach.

Season 2 Complete! I'm taking a break from this story, but it's not dead! Stay tuned!


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